Spalletti confident Chiesa can fit into new-look Italy
Italy impressed in the early stages of the Nations League, even without Federico Chiesa, and Luciano Spalletti muses how he would fit.
Luciano Spalletti is confident Federico Chiesa can fit into his new-look Italy side after they continued their impressive run in the Nations League.
The Azzurri are currently at the top of the standings in Group A2, having followed up their impressive 3-1 win over France last week with a 2-1 victory over Israel.
Davide Frattesi and Moise Kean netted the goals for Italy on Monday, though they were set up for a nervy finish after Mohamed Abu Fani's late strike.
And they managed to do it without a key player in Chiesa, who was not involved in the squad this international break due to his recent move to Liverpool, but Spalletti is adamant he can find a place for the midfielder in his set-up.
"I imagine he can play as a support striker, but with more freedom to go near the flanks," Spalletti said.
"This 3-5-2 is versatile, at times it can be a centre-forward with a wider figure, it doesn't necessarily have to be two central strikers."
Italy's strength in the final third was the difference in Hungary on Monday, as they had 12 shots, six of which were on target.
Israel were able to match them quite well in the middle of the park, but Spalletti was impressed with his team's patience to get the result over the line.
"The team proved itself very mature, despite generally being of a young age," Spalletti said.
"There was difficulty running into the traffic of the Israeli midfield, it was far more dense and blocked up than against France.
"We had to keep the balance and ran very few risks, but also didn't get frustrated."
Kean had three shots, creating 0.56 expected goals, more than any other Italy player, while Frattesi was close behind him, with two shots, getting both of his on target.
"Frattesi works so hard and creates this superiority in different areas, but he also knows how to read the game and always finds himself in the right place at the right time," Spalletti added.
"It's true that we didn't give Kean enough service, but we did better in the second half and won thanks to our maturity.
"I thought long and hard before choosing these players, as I wanted to bring down the average age of the group and the response was perfect.
"Now we just need to reinforce that initial idea and be open to letting others in, along with the two or three who were left at home this time."