Premier League bound players: What to expect?

It’s a well trodden path, Serie A to the Premier League. Some all time greats like Gianfranco Zola, Fabrizio Ravanelli and Pierluigi Casiraghi have made the trip to England from Italy. And this summer, three more players have already made moves from Southern to Northern Europe.

Diego Coppola left Hellas Verona for the sunny south coast of England, rocking up in Brighton (pun intended) for €11m on a 5 year deal. Brentford snapped up Michael Kayode from Fiorentina for €15m and Manchester City spent a whopping €55m on Tijjani Reijnders as part of their squad rebuild.

But what can the English fans expect from these three players?

Diego Coppola – Brighton

The 21 year old centre back is one of Italy’s brightest defensive prospects along with Kayode and Leoni. He played 34 games and contributed one goal for Hellas Verona last season as they had a perfectly average season.

He stood out against much older and more experienced opponents though, with 2.09 tackles per game. He also managed 2.31 interceptions per game, like any good Italian centre back. This put him in the top 1% of Serie A defenders. He was also in the top 1% for aerial duels won with 3.94 per game, a key facet of the game for this “old fashioned” centre back.

Coppola fits the bill for what you think of when you think Italian defender. Great reading of the game, enabling him to make high amounts of interceptions. Strong in the air and disciplined in his positioning, he’ll add much needed strength to Brighton’s back line.

One area he can improve (and will need to at Brighton) is his ball playing. Coppola isn’t what you’d call a ball playing centre back. His composure under a press isn’t fantastic and playing out remains a key facet of Brighton’s game. He is, however, intelligent and adapting to play in Brighton’s back line won’t be difficult for him.

All in all, this is a solid signing and I expect one of the power 5 to pick him up in a few seasons time.

Michael Kayode – Brentford

One of Italy’s most prized future full backs has moved to West London and before long their manager was on his way to North London. Brentford are a club that do their homework and stick to one ethos, so I don’t anticipate there being an issue here.

He only appeared in the Conference League for Fiorentina and played 5 matches before moving on loan to Brentford, but the 20 year old impressed in them. What will he look like long term for Brentford? 80% passing accuracy and 50% crossing accuracy and making 11 interceptions across those 5 games paints a picture of a composed full back who’s always looking to start attacks and contribute across the half way line.

Energetic, calm, disciplined and reads the game well, he’s really highly rated in the Azzurri youth teams and it’s no secret as to why. One criticism that has been levelled at him is the speed of his decision making, but for a young man that will improve.

If he keeps his high energy and good whipped crosses going, he’ll become a fan favourite in no time at all. Expect to see him gradually introduced throughout the season but I reckon by next season he’s the starting right back at Brentford.

Tijjani Reijnders – Manchester City

Ok, you probably know all about him anyway. Or at least a bit about him. The 26 year old comes with a big reputation and an even bigger boots to fill replacing the outgoing Kevin de Bruyne.

After two years at Milan, it seemed a fairly emotional goodbye, but he’s in a good place in his career and I’m sure he’ll make the step up.

Last season Reijnders was the top scoring midfielder across Europe’s big 5 leagues with 15 goals in all competitions as well as another 5 assists. He maintained an 88% passing accuracy across the season the box to box number 8 made over 45 line breaking passes last season.

Intelligent positioning play, strong dribbling, accurate passing and long range shooting. He’s the perfect pre-packaged De Bruyne replacement. He’s even received praise for his engine from Frank Rijkaard – high praise indeed.

Breaking the lines and late arriving in the box will certainly see him fit like a glove into any Guardiola team but the faster tempo and tighter pressing of the Premier League will take some judgement. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out, some big players have gone to City and flopped completely…