Leeds United are reportedly interested in signing AC Milan midfielder Tommaso Pobega this summer, after an excellent loan spell at Serie A side Spezia. The young star has impressed in Spezia’s fight against the drop while on loan, catching the attention of Leeds – but also Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City and German side Eintracht Frankfurt. But recent comments about Pobega will have fans excited.
Failing to break into Milan’s senior side even though the left-footed midfielder had clocked up 52 appearances for the Italian side’s second string, Pobega chose to leave on loan last summer. He secured a move to top-flight Spezia and has since impressed – scoring three goals in 14 Serie A outings. He recently starred in a 2-1 win over giants Napoli, in which he scored and laid on an assist.
His future is cloudy. Milan sit at the top of the league with the likes of Franck Kessie, Sandro Tonali, Rade Krunic and Hakan Calhanoglu in midfield – a list that Pobega might struggle to break past, even despite his form for Spezia. He wants to stay at Milan, but TuttoSport claim Milan might choose to sell him if they receive offers between £8.75million and £10.5million. Leicester and Frankfurt are also keeping tabs.
Cheap, young, and shining in Italy’s top tier. If Leeds cannot sign Rodrigo De Paul then perhaps Pobega might be a good addition as competition for the likes of Mateusz Klich, Rodrigo, Stuart Dallas and Jamie Shackleton in the middle of the park. Certainly, Italy manager Roberto Mancini has been quoted by Football Italia as claiming that he is considering calling up Pobega ahead of Euro 2021, which will delight Leeds fans if he does join.
“We [Italy] are following him [Federico Dimarco] like we do with other talented players such as [Matteo] Lovato, [Nicolò] Rovella and [Tommaso] Pobega. [Mattia] Zaccagni was unlucky, he received a call-up but he picked up an injury,” Mancini told Gazzetta Dello Sport as per Football Italia in January.
Leeds need a midfielder. Having failed to bring De Paul or Michael Cuisance to the club in the summer, that lack of midfield cover has shown. Rodrigo – signed as competition and a potential replacement for Patrick Bamford – has since impressed in midfield alongside Klich. With Klich then struggling for form, Dallas has come in – but he is naturally a left-back, or a winger.
When everyone is fit, Klich and Rodrigo start in the middle – in front of Kalvin Phillips. Adam Forshaw remains injured, Jamie Shackleton is young and inexperienced and Dallas is the club’s first-choice left-back. A midfielder is needed, one that can score goals – and Pobega could be ideal, given his asking price.
