Who could replace Verratti for Italy and how could Gattuso line up in midfield?

Thursday’s reports indicate that Marco Verratti will be unavailable for Italy’s upcoming World Cup play-off campaign through injury, so who could replace the 33-year-old midfielder, and how is CT Gennaro Gattuso planning to line up in the middle of the park? 

Verratti, who last played for the national team in Nations League finals in the summer of 2023, has been in line for a surprise return to the Azzurri squad for the World Cup play-off semi-final against Northern Ireland on March 26, and for the final, which will be played away against either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina on March 31 should Italy qualify. 

There were reports that the former PSG and current Al-Duhail midfielder was on Gattuso’s preliminary squad list, and that he was in line to make the final cut at the end of this month. 

Those rumours have been put to bed on Thursday, as reports from various outlets claim that Verratti is still struggling with a knee injury that has kept him out of club action since January 15 and will not be included in the World Cup play-off squad at the end of this month. 

Thursday’s reports indicate that 21-year-old Roma midfielder Niccolo Pisilli is the most likely candidate to replace Verratti in Gattuso’s squad. 

Fortunately for Gattuso, the injury to Verratti is unlikely to impact plans on his first-choice starting XI. That is because Nicolo Barella and Sandro Tonali are widely expected to be the go-to ‘number 8s’ this month, and Juventus’s Manuel Locatelli is highly likely to be the man at the base of the Azzuurri midfield. 

Which midfielders are on Italy’s radar? 

Nicolo Barella (Inter), Sandro Tonali (Newcastle), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Davide Frattesi (Inter), Nicolo Rovella (Lazio), Samuele Ricci (Milan), Niccolo Pisilli (Roma), Fabio Miretti (Juventus), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Giovanni Fabbian (Fiorentina), Nicolo Fagioli (Fiorentina), Cesare Casadei (Torino).