Rubbish list of Italians in the Premier League a bad omen for Arsenal after Calafiori signing

Arsenal signing Riccardo Calafiori got us thinking: are there many Italian Serie A signings that have been a success in the Premier League? In short, the answer to that question is a resounding no.

We have ranked every Italian to leave Serie A for the Premier League since 2010 from best to worst, because every player since 1992 would have been far too much work and extremely difficult for someone born in 1995. The standard is so low that it was pretty much impossible to separate them from the fourth-worst to the eighth-best.

24) Moise Kean (Juventus to Everton, 2019)
He cost Everton a load of money, was substituted on and off at Old Trafford in the space of 18 minutes, and was simply a massive disappointment in England after making waves for Juventus as a teenager.

There was so much excitement when Kean left Juve but he flopped at Goodison Park, scoring goals at a decent rate during loan spells at Paris Saint-Germain and his former club, while struggling to trap a bag of cement for the Toffees.

We don’t care that Everton eventually ended up making a profit – according to Transfermarkt anyway – as this signing was too disastrous to be anywhere other than dead last.

23) Mario Balotelli (AC Milan to Liverpool, 2014)
Balotelli scored goals everywhere he played…except for Liverpool. He scored a goal for the Reds in the Premier League. Of course it came against Tottenham. Proper Spursy, that.

The Italian was brought in from AC Milan for £16m to help replace Luis Suarez and did his best to remind fans just how much they missed the Uruguayan.

22) Patrick Cutrone (AC Milan to Wolves, 2019)
There was so much hype surrounding Cutrone when starring for AC Milan at a young age but his career died the day he joined Wolves. He is still only 26 and has been at Cesc Fabregas’ Como since 2022. He has done well to resurrect his career but it will be interesting to see how he does in Serie A.

Overall, he scored three times in 28 matches for Wolves.

21) Simone Zaza (Juventus to West Ham, 2016)
One of many horrendous West Ham striker signings over the years, Zaza was pants, spending six months on loan from Juventus. He will always be remembered for his hilarious penalty miss against Germany at Euro 2016.

20) Gianluca Scamacca (Sassuolo to West Ham, 2022)
Scamacca is not a bad footballer but there is clearly a striker curse at West Ham, which is very much in the spotlight here.

The Hammers paid £30.5m for the target man and cut their losses a year later, selling the Italy international to Atalanta for around £25m. The fact the money lost is so relatively insignificant saves Scamacca a bit.

19) Fabio Borini (Roma to Liverpool, 2012)
Borini was great for Sunderland but rubbish for Liverpool, which was his first stint in England. You will all remember that statistic graphic of him next to Balotelli and Rickie Lambert. Dark times.

18) Marco Borriello (Roma to West Ham, 2014)
Another rubbish West Ham striker, is it?

Two appearances due to a calf injury and a reported 700,000 million euro loan fee. Not ideal.

17) Andrea Dossena (Napoli to Sunderland, 2013)
Did relatively well for Liverpool but not for Sunderland.

16) Antonio Nocerino (AC Milan to West Ham, 2014)
Nocerino failed to nail down a starting spot at Upton Park after spending six months on loan from AC Milan. Those Hammers loved his beard though.

15) Matteo Darmian (Torino to Man Utd, 2015)
The 34-year-old has been a solid player for Serie A champions Inter but failed to impress in four years at Man Utd. £1.4m the Red Devils ended up getting for him, another huge loss.

14) Dani Osvaldo (Roma to Southampton, 2011)
A true ‘streets won’t forget baller’ who put Vincent Kompany on his arse that one time. That goal for Southampton was all he ever did in England but it was one hell of a moment.

13) Cesare Casadei (Inter to Chelsea, 2022)
The fact Casadei has time on his side saves himself a bit here. The fact he is at Chelsea means he is destined to be sold after they completely derail his development due to their bloated squad, mind.

12) Emanuele Giaccherini (Juventus to Sunderland, 2013)
Was far from excellent for Sunderland, who only sold him to Napoli for £2.5m despite a strong Euro 2016.

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11) Davide Zappacosta (Torino to Chelsea, 2017)
Chelsea paid around £20m for Zappacosta, who was one of many questionable Antonio Conte signings in the summer of 2017. Antonio Rudiger was the only successful buy in that window, joining alongside Zappacosta, Alvaro Morata, Danny Drinkwater and Tiemoue Bakayoko. Sheesh.

10) Sandro Tonali (AC Milan to Newcastle, 2023)
There is a very strong chance that Tonali finishes top of this list when all is said and done. He is a fantastic player and perfect for the Newcastle United midfield. Magpies fans quite rightly can’t wait for him to return.

The fact that there is a return is why his placement is so low. If you are somehow not aware, Tonali played 12 times for Newcastle before being hit with a lengthy ban after breaking gambling rules.

9) Andrea Ranocchia (Inter to Hull, 2017)
“I’ve been here for a month and a half but I am yet to see the sun. It rains practically every day!” You did choose to join Hull in the winter, pal.

You definitely forgot this transfer happened, didn’t you? He wasn’t actually that bad.

8) Emerson Palmieri to Chelsea 2018
Was better than Zappacosta but far from fantastic for Chelsea. The fact he is eighth says all you need to know.

7) Manolo Gabbiadini to Southampton 2017
Gabbiadini had a pearler of a left foot on him and his instinctive finishing was frequently on show for Southampton. His brace in the League Cup final against Man Utd was not enough to win the Saints the trophy but will live long in the memory for their supporters. On a pretty shoddy list, he is the first who cannot be branded a flop.

6) Davide Santon to (Inter to Newcastle, 2011)
One of the forgotten nostalgic players for Newcastle fans, Santon was pretty steady, making 82 league appearances in four years for the Magpies. He was only £3m and left a cult hero, so it is hard to say anything bad about him.

5) Guglielmo Vicario (Empoli to Tottenham, 2023)
The fact the more recent Italian Serie A signings have been successful gives Arsenal hope that Califiori can be a hit at the Emirates.

Vicario had a great debut season at Arsenal’s rivals Tottenham, showing an excellent ability as a sweeper ‘keeper. He is quick off his line and a great shot-stopper. But there are doubts over his ability to dominate his box. We have seen him be bullied several times already in the Premier League. He is nevertheless a player we like and the only goalkeeper on this list.

4) Angelo Ogbonna (Juventus to West Ham, 2015)
Juventus have flogged a few dodgy players to the Premier League, selling clubs a dream in the process; Ogbonna certainly does not fall into that category having been a consistent and solid presence in the West Ham defence in recent years.

Now a free agent, the 36-year-old has the second-most Premier League appearances by an Italian, bettered only by iconic Chelsea forward Gianfranco Zola.

3) Mario Balotelli (Inter to Man City, 2010)
The only player to feature on this list twice, Balotelli’s first transfer to the Premier League was in 2010, joining Man City from Inter for around £20m.

Better known for his misdemeanours than his football during his time at the Etihad, the 34-year-old gave us some right laughs from setting fireworks off in his house, showing up at nightclubs with a 30-man entourage, and being substituted in a pre-season friendly against LA Galaxy forthat horrendous flick. There has been nobody quite like Balotelli since his time under Roberto Mancini.

He certainly had his moments on the pitch, setting up Sergio Aguero’s iconic title-clinching goal and scoring with his shoulder once. Oh, and ‘Why Always Me?’ was fun. We miss those characters in Our League, we really do.

2) Destiny Udogie (Udinese to Tottenham, 2022)
Tottenham tend to nail it when they delve into the Serie A market. Like Vicario, Udogie was also brilliant in 2023/24 and has an incredible future ahead of him aged 21.

There is a strong chance Spurs will have the best left-back in the world in the not so distant future, which means he will probably be playing for Real Madrid in two years.

1) Jorginho (Napoli to Chelsea, 2018)
Say what you want about Jorginho, but this is nowhere close to being up for debate. Sure, he has had his dodgy moments for both Chelsea and Arsenal, but those are outweighed by his brilliance in possession and incredible leadership.

Chelsea’s philosophy under Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali means selling Jorginho in January 2023 made sense, however, they definitely miss his calming presence amongst the complete chaos at Stamford Bridge these days.

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