Severe structural deficiencies have throttled Italian football’s pipeline in recent times. CIES Football Observatory figures reveal that between 2020 and 2025, Italy exported merely 413 footballers, placing them 24th globally behind nations such as Russia, Japan, and the United States, whereas Europe’s other major four leagues each surpassed 1,000 players. Furthermore, Serie A allocated just 1.9 per cent of match time to homegrown under-21 athletes throughout 2025, marking the second-lowest rate among the top 50 global competitions, behind only the United Arab Emirates Pro League. This developmental drought meant that between June 2025 and February 2026, Inter forward
