With the 2026 FIFA World Cup just days away, there is plenty of international action going on.
England laboured to a narrow 1-0 win over New Zealand on Saturday and will face Costa Rica on Wednesday in their final match before their tournament opener against Croatia a week later.
One nation that won’t be involved in North America this summer, though, is Italy.
The Azzurri have failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup, despite beating England to win the European Championships in 2021.
Italy have beaten both Luxembourg and Greece this month, and it has now emerged that one of the Premier League’s biggest clubs had scouts in attendance at one of those matches.
According to TEAMtalk, Manchester United were one of several teams that had scouts in attendance at Greece’s 1-0 defeat against Italy, with the Red Devils keeping an eye on striker Pio Esposito.
Esposito has scored in each of his last two games for Italy (Photo: Sportimage Ltd/Alamy)
The 20-year-old has scored in Italy’s 1-0 victories over both Luxembourg and Greece this month, taking his tally for his country to five goals in nine games.
Esposito is a product of Inter Milan’s youth system and has played 50 times for the club across all competitions at senior level, scoring 11 goals.
He also netted 22 times for Spezia during a two-year loan spell with the club, before returning to help Inter win the Serie A title last term.
It is claimed that several sides are interested in the youngster, with Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Chelsea’s BlueCo ownership group all keeping tabs on the player.
Esposito’s contract with the Serie A champions is set to run until the end of the 2029/30 campaign, but it appears that the club may face a battle to keep hold of the player beyond this summer as some of Europe’s biggest clubs circle.