Micah Richards “heard” that Premier League rivals Arsenal and Manchester City wanted to sign Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori after Euro 2024.
Calafiori, 22, was inspired by the organizational level when defending champions Italy finished second in Group B to advance to the knockout levels.
The Italians, who beat England by the fallout in the Euro 2020 final, now turn their attention to a 16-man tie against Switzerland and a possible quarter-final encounter against Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions.
Calafiori was named in Italy’s squad for the European Championship after an impressive season at Bologna, which finished fifth in Serie A, but only made his debut as a foreigner in a previous friendly this month.
Despite his inexperience at international level, the 22-year-old has played every minute of the Italian national team’s crusade and looks set for a long and successful career.
Former England defender Richards says Calafiori has been “amazing” for Italy and suspects he will attract interest from Arsenal and Manchester City later in the summer.
“Calafiori has been incredible,” Richards said on The Rest is Football podcast. “It’s the one everyone talks about. All clubs are connected to him.
“He is his football for Bologna and I have heard that Arsenal and Man City are interested.
“He’s smart with the ball, he can score goals, he can defend. And when we played the games, I focused on [Alessandro] Bastoni, but Calafiori was just as impressive.
Despite being European champions, Italy are not one of the favourites for the tournament in Germany and remain one of the losers heading into the round of 16.
But former Premier League striker Chris Sutton hopes Luciano Spalletti’s side will “find a way to win” their knockout clash against Switzerland and arrange a meeting with England, provided the Three Lions do their homework against Slovakia.
“Switzerland ended up drawing with Germany in their last hosting game, but they were ahead for a long time and it looked like they would be the most sensible in Group A,” Sutton told BBC Sport.
“I was talking to Danny Murphy about this match because he’s commentating on it for BBC TV and he likes Switzerland, but I never agree with Danny, so I go step by step with Italy.
“They are in the starting line-up and they figured out a way to get the result they opposed against Croatia in their last Group B game.
“Honestly, even though they only equalized in the 98th minute, they didn’t deserve to lose because they had the most productive chances.
“I just have the feeling that Italy will do the same here and find a way to win, even if it’s very close. Maybe 1-0 Italy.
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