Nicolo Tresoldi Delays Italy Switch, Keeps Germany Door Open

Nicolo Tresoldi is not ready to choose. Not yet.

Despite a flurry of reports in Italy that the Club Brugge striker had committed his international future to the Azzurri, the 22-year-old has asked for time and stepped back from an immediate decision on his national team career.

According to several Italian outlets, Tresoldi held talks with new Italy coach Roberto Mancini and FIGC technical director Claudio Ranieri, then requested not to be called up for the upcoming Nations League fixtures. At the same time, he asked that his association switch request with FIFA be put on hold.

The FIGC have done exactly that. The paperwork is on ice.

Torn between two heavyweights

Tresoldi’s stance is clear for now: he wants to finish the current cycle with Germany’s Under-21s before making any definitive move. He has been part of the DFB system since Under-19 level and has grown into a key figure for the U21s, scoring 12 goals in 24 appearances.

His international dilemma has been simmering for months. At the end of August, Gazzetta dello Sport reported he had chosen Italy. In Germany, Bild countered that he remained undecided. The latest developments back the German version: Tresoldi is still weighing up his options.

The interest is hardly surprising. Tresoldi has started the season in blistering form with Club Brugge. He has five goals in seven matches, including a sharp finish in Tuesday’s 3-2 Champions League defeat to Aston Villa, another reminder of his penalty-box instincts.

That instinct has been noticed at the very top.

Nagelsmann’s almost-man

Tresoldi’s breakthrough in Belgium last season pushed him to the edge of Julian Nagelsmann’s World Cup squad. The former Germany coach later admitted the striker was “really very close for a long time” to a call-up and praised him as a player “who has that special instinct in the penalty area”.

It still wasn’t enough for a seat on the plane, but Nagelsmann made one thing clear: Tresoldi’s “time will come”.

That time might arrive under a different man. After Germany’s World Cup campaign in the USA, Canada and Mexico collapsed, Nagelsmann stepped down. Jürgen Klopp is now in charge and will name his first squad on 17 September. He has yet to comment publicly on Tresoldi, but the opportunity is obvious: a prolific, U21-tested striker who has already flirted with senior selection.

Germany know him. Italy want him. Both have a strong case.

A career shaped across three countries

Tresoldi’s background only deepens the tug-of-war. Born in Cagliari to an Italian father and Argentinian mother, he spent his early years in Italy before moving with his family to Germany at 13. He came through the academy at Hannover 96 and built his reputation there before Club Brugge paid €7.5 million for him in 2025.

In Bruges, he has taken another step. A standout first season established him as one of the most interesting young forwards in Europe, and this campaign he has started as if intent on forcing a decision from someone — if not himself, then from the national coaches watching.

His rise has inevitably fuelled transfer rumours and attracted attention from multiple associations. For now, though, Tresoldi is choosing his next badge, not his next club.

Italy rebuilding, Germany reloading

Both national teams are in transition, both need goals, and both see Tresoldi as part of the answer.

Italy are undergoing a major rebuild after missing another World Cup. Mancini has returned to the dugout and faces a demanding Nations League block: Belgium on 25 September, France on 2 October, and Turkey twice on 28 September and 5 October. Tresoldi will not be there. By choice.

Germany, meanwhile, are trying to reset under Klopp after a “botched” World Cup that forced a hard reset at the DFB. Klopp’s first squad list on 17 September will offer a glimpse of his attacking blueprint. Does he move early for Tresoldi, or wait while the striker finishes his U21 commitments?

For now, the forward is doing the one thing that guarantees both phones keep ringing: scoring. The next step will not be made in a boardroom or a newspaper column. It will be made by Tresoldi himself — and it will shape the next decade of his career.