Marco Silvestri. A bit of enigma during his time at Leeds United, he was one of the rare examples of Massimo Cellino’s imports from Italian football that succeeded at Elland Road – he clocked up 98 appearances in all competitions for the newly-promoted Premier League side, but since leaving Leeds, he has gone on to new heights.
Silvestri, 29, joined Leeds in the summer of 2014 from Chievo. He joined in the same summer as Liam Cooper and Gaetano Berardi – but also the likes of Tommaso Bianchi, Giuseppe Bellusci, Casper Sloth, Edgar Cani and Dario Del Fabro. In those three years, he clocked up just two shy of 100 appearances for the Whites – with his third season acting as back-up to Rob Green.
Since then, Silvestri joined Hellas Verona. He has now played 94 times in three seasons and after gaining promotion with Verona, his form in Serie A has caught plenty of plaudits. Indeed, Silvestri was called up by Italy’s senior team and Roberto Mancini earlier this season after a string of excellent performances – conceding just 12 goals in 13 Serie A matches, keeping four clean sheets.
One of those clean sheets came in a 3-0 win over Roma and a 0-0 draw with Champions League side Atalanta – who are famed for their attacking style of play. Now, Silvestri’s career could be about to reach new heights ahead of the January transfer window – just three seasons after playing second fiddle to England veteran Rob Green.
Indeed, Tutto Hellas Verona have claimed that Inter Milan are looking to sign a replacement for Slovenia star and Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic. The 36-year-old is edging towards retirement and has entered the final 18 months contract of his Inter contract – and Silvestri has been identified as a possible replacement.
A far cry from playing away at Sutton United in the FA Cup in January 2017.
