Borussia Dortmund have three promising young Italian starlets on their books right now, Samuele Inacio, Luca Reggiani and Filippo Mane.
All three of them broke into BVB's senior team last season and showed great promise with their burgeoning talent that soon translated into international debuts.
In June, interim manager Silvio Baldini called up all three of Inacio, Reggiani and Mane for their Italy debuts, with Inacio and Mane coming off the bench against Luxembourg for their maiden caps.
Reggiani came on against Greece four days later, but his debut lasted barely a few seconds as the defender was sent off on his first Azzurri appearance.
Samuele Inacio back with Italy
Now with Roberto Mancini announced as the new permanent of Italy (again), the fallen giants are hoping for a fresh start under him with eyes on Euro 2028.
Mancini, who previously guided them to Euro 2020 glory five years ago, has announced a massive 34-man squad for the extended international window which features Samuele Inacio.
Inacio enjoyed a productive preseason campaign with BVB but was sent off in their Bundesliga opener against Hamburger SV, leading to a three-match ban.
But the 18-year-old redeemed himself with a talismanic brace in their 5-0 drubbing of HEBC in the first round of the DFB-Pokal, just days later.
Italy's current squad is brimming with rising stars and Inacio will be aiming to make a serious impression on his manager and perhaps stake a claim in their starting lineup too.
Why are Mane and Reggiani missing?
Even as Samuele Inacio joins the Azzurri squad ahead of their clash with Belgium on Friday, the obvious question that arises for Dortmund fans is why are Filippo Mane and Luca Reggiani missing?
Mane is currently recovering from a muscle injury he sustained during their clash with Hoffenheim, cutting his evening short after just 32 minutes into it.
He's been missing in action ever since as head coach Niko Kovac has revealed that the defender is expected to return only in October, which means he isn't ready to resume football yet.
The 21-year-old, who came off the bench twice in June for his first two Italy caps, will thereby miss their Nations League fixtures against Belgium, Turkey, France and Turkey again.
As for Reggiani, the BVB's other Italian teen, he is fit but has been called up to Italy's under-21 side instead. The defender, who signed a long-term professional contract with Dortmund earlier this year, has seen only 50 minutes of action on account of competition for places in the XI and will be looking to hone his skills with the youth side this month.
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