Nicolo Tresoldi Delays Decision on International Future
Nicolo Tresoldi is not ready to choose. Not yet.
Several Italian outlets report that the Club Brugge striker has pressed pause on committing his international future to Italy, despite weeks of noise suggesting a decision was imminent.
In a meeting at the FIGC headquarters with new Italy coach Roberto Mancini and technical director Claudio Ranieri, the 22-year-old is said to have asked for more time and specifically requested not to be called up for the upcoming Nations League fixtures.
The message was clear: not now.
FIGC hits the brakes
According to Gazzetta dello Sport and La Repubblica, the FIGC has responded by shelving, for the moment, Tresoldi’s requested association switch with FIFA. The striker wants to finish the current cycle with Germany’s Under-21s before making any definitive move.
That choice keeps the DFB in the game. It also delays what many in Italy had assumed was a done deal.
The speculation had exploded at the end of August. Gazzetta reported that Tresoldi had opted for the Azzurri, while German outlet Bild countered that the former Hannover forward remained undecided. The reality now leans closer to Bild’s version: Tresoldi is still weighing up his options.
A striker in demand
On the pitch, his form is doing nothing to calm the tug-of-war.
At Club Brugge, Tresoldi has started the season with authority. He has already scored five goals in seven matches, carrying on from an outstanding debut campaign in Belgium. On Tuesday, he underlined that form with a sharp finish in Brugge’s 3-2 Champions League defeat to Aston Villa.
Those performances have fuelled transfer talk and attracted admiring glances from multiple national associations. Everyone can see the same thing: a penalty-box forward with timing, movement and an eye for goal.
Italian roots, German schooling
Tresoldi’s story runs through three football cultures.
Born in Cagliari to an Italian father and Argentinian mother, he spent his early childhood in Italy before moving with his family to Germany at 13. There, he came through the ranks at Hannover 96, learning his trade in the Bundesliga system before earning a move abroad.
In 2025, Brugge paid €7.5 million to bring him to Belgium. It already looks like money well spent.
Internationally, Tresoldi has been a DFB player since his teens. From Under-19 level onwards, he has worn German colours, and for the Under-21s he has delivered 12 goals in 24 appearances. That record explains why Germany were never going to let him go without a fight.
Nagelsmann’s near miss
His rise almost carried him all the way to the last World Cup.
Julian Nagelsmann, then Germany coach, admitted that Tresoldi came close to making his squad. “He was really very close for a long time,” Nagelsmann said, describing him as a player “who has that special instinct in the penalty area”.
In the end, the call never came. Nagelsmann left the door open, though, insisting that Tresoldi’s “time will come”.
That time may now arrive under a different man.
Klopp’s first big decision?
Germany have moved on from Nagelsmann after a disastrous World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Jürgen Klopp is in charge now and will name his first squad on 17 September.
He has not yet spoken publicly about Tresoldi. He does not need to. The numbers, the performances, the profile – they all land on his desk.
If Klopp wants to make an early statement, capping a prolific 22-year-old who has not yet tied himself to Italy would be a powerful one.
Italy’s rebuild, Germany’s chance
Italy, for their part, are in a rebuild of their own. Mancini has returned to the bench after the Azzurri once again failed to reach the World Cup finals, and he faces a demanding Nations League block: Belgium on 25 September, France on 2 October, and Turkey twice on 28 September and 5 October.
Tresoldi will not be there. By choice.
So the contest continues. One of Europe’s most intriguing young forwards, born in Cagliari, raised in Germany, thriving in Bruges, is still listening to both anthems in his head.
The next squad list Jürgen Klopp reads out could tilt that inner debate for good.
