The Primavera of Italian football: youngsters take over the Serie A.
For some time, something has been brewing beneath the surface of Italian football, but the first matchday of Serie A 2026/27 offered a particularly distinct image of it. Young players who developed in the youth sectors of our clubs have found the space, responsibility, and in multiple cases also a way of immediately leaving their mark. Some have completed their journey right up to the first team of the club which trained them; others changed teams, finding their opportunity on the big stage elsewhere.
The opening day of the league thus brought together confirmation and discoveries. Pio Esposito played alongside Lautaro Martínez against Monza and scored 3-1 with a refined backheel; Antonio Vergara left his mark right away on Napoli’s first win with a goal and an assist. Right behind them, though, stands an even younger group who started to claim space in the first matchday.
Mout, from Monza’s Primavera to an assist at San Siro
Mathis Mout is amongst the weekend’s surprises, as he was unfazed by the step up to Serie A and a stage like San Siro at 19 years old. Against Inter, the Monza midfielder played with personality and provided Varela with an assist for the momentary equaliser.
Mout, a French-Italian player born in 2007, developed in the youth teams for the Biancorossi, starting as a right winger before gradually dropping deeper. It’s at the heart of the midfield that he can best express his quality on the ball and comfort in possession. Ivan Juric tested him there throughout pre-season, before throwing him into his competitive Coppa Italia debut without hesitation, and he then played again, against the Italian Champions.
Mout was not the only first-timer for the Biancorossi**: Lorenzo Lucchesi and Adam Bakoune,** raised in the Fiorentina and AC Milan youth academies respectively, also debuted against Inter in the Serie A.
Romano, a goal to take charge of Cagliari
Alessandro Romano’s first start in Serie A could hardly have been more impactful. The midfielder, born in 2006, scored the winner for Cagliari away at Parma with a splendid left-footed long-range strike, gifting the Rossoblù three points and himself a debut for the Rossoblù to remember.
Romano plays for Switzerland U21 but also has an Italian passport. He developed at Trigoria, dominating in Roma’s youth teams as a midfielder with a strong knack for forward runs, goals and final passes. During the last season, Gian Piero Gasperini allowed him to make two initial brief appearances amongst the big names, before he was sent out on loan to Spezia Calcio in Serie B.
During the summer, his transfer to Cagliari opened a new path for him. Fabio Pisacane, a coach who has already demonstrated no fear in giving young players responsibility, immediately gave him a spot in the centre field. It took Romano only one day to return the favour.
Gorter, from the Lecce youth academy to a first goal in the Serie A
Another first as a starter worth outlining was Olaf Gorter. The Dutch midfielder born in 2005 opened the scoring in Lecce’s victory in Venice, scoring the first goal in Serie A on the matchday in which Eusebio Di Francesco decided to put him on the pitch from the first minute.
His path tells the story of the strategies used by Italian clubs to fuel their own youth academies. Lecce had singled him out in Ajax’s youth academy at age 19, bringing him to Salento to put him into their own academy. Within two seasons, Gorter stood out above all for his ability to break up play and his quality and skill, which earned him the first three highlights with the senior team in the past season, two in Serie A and one in the Coppa Italia.
At the Stadio Penzo, the Spaniard Paco Esteban and Dane Lærke were on the bench, two other players who arrived from abroad at a young age in order to grow in the Giallorosso’s youth academy. This is a small example of the international strategy adopted by Lecce in their construction of their own Primavera.
Cissé, Amorim’s pupil
Alphadjo Cissé does not come from AC Milan’s youth academy, but his path shows another way in which Serie A clubs can build their own futures: spotting young players already in the world of professional football and aiding them in their final steps. Born in Treviso in 2006 and raised in the Verona academy, he has starred as an attacking midfielder and second striker, stepping up to senior football at Catanzaro. His first season in Serie B was interrupted by an injury, but what he showed for the Aquilani was enough for AC Milan to invest in him in January.
The rest was done by an impressive pre-season in which Cissé convinced Ruben Amorim to carve out a special space for him. The confirmation arrived in Turin: as a starter alongside Loftus-Cheek just in behind the striker, the 2006-born player replied with a display of character and most of all with a goal which swayed the match in the Rossoneri’s favour.
On the other side of the pitch, Torino responded with two other debuts in Serie A: Alessio Cacciamani, who came from the Granata youth academy and went back to Juve Stabia after a great season, and Diego Mascardi, a goalkeeper born in 2006 and trained at Spezia Calcio.
Palmisani and Cichella, Frosinone grows at home
The return of Frosinone to Serie A also brought two players raised in the Ciociarian youth academy. Lorenzo Palmisani and Matteo Cichella, both named in the starting line-up against Juventus, debuted at the Stadio Benito Stirpe in the top division.
Palmisani, who was already a starter in the promotion-winning run, took no time to show his ability to jump categories, immediately being decisive with a double save. Yet Cichella, a midfielder born in 2005 and raised between the football schools of Roma and the youth sector at Frosinone, had already taken in the atmosphere of the first team in the previous season in Serie B. His debut on a more important stage has now also taken place.
Lulli, Gasperini launches another wide player
Emanuele Lulli is also amongst the most interesting surprises of the first matchday. The player born in 2007 started from the first minute against Fiorentina, due to Rensch’s absence and the decision to initially leave out Molina: an excellent full debut in the 4-0 win that kicked off Roma’s league campaign.
Lulli, a key player in the Primavera in the previous season, was placed in the first team during the summer training camp and has gradually gained Gasperini’s trust, showing off with an assist for Dybala in a friendly against Cardiff. As a right-back who can play as a right wing-back, he combines an imposing physique with a powerful driving run with the ball: characteristics which are especially suited to Gasperini’s football and on which the Giallorosso coach can continue to work.
Macchioni and Cinquegrano, Sassuolo building from youth
Sassuolo have opted for a youthful approach in the construction of their defence. Tommaso Macchioni, born in 2006 and raised in the Neroverde youth academy, had already played all 90 minutes against Parma in the final matchday of last season, and Alberto Aquilani named him in the centre backline in the first match of 2026/27 against Atalanta.
Macchioni, a physically strong centre-back, earned a promotion into the first team through his time in the Primavera, enriched also by four appearances in the UEFA Youth League. A mistake on Krstović’s goal also arrived against the Dea, which slipped away from him during Carnesecchi’s long clearance: an error which does not erase the trust given to a 19-year-old by Sassuolo in his second appearance as a starter in the Serie A.
Simone Cinquegrano, born in 2004 and also trained in the Neroverde youth academy, was in the same line of defence. After his experience in Serie C with Rimini and Inter U23, he returned to Emilia to try his luck in Serie A. As a right-back who is 192 centimetres tall, he combines physical structure with driving power and has started the season high up in the Aquilani football hierarchy.
Liberali, Lontani and Konaté: other young players push for a breakthrough
The first official undertakings have offered interesting hints to other players ready to make a breakthrough during the course of the season. Mattia Liberali, born in 2007, has already earned Cesc Fàbergas’ trust and has received his first opportunity off the bench with Como in Udine.
Simone Lontani’s path is also one to follow, as he is another product of AC Milan’s youth academy. The brace he achieved in the Coppa Italia put him on display, and the young attacker is now ready to find his place in the first team at Parma.
Right amongst the Ducali, Abdou-Salam Konaté, a French midfielder born in 2006 who completed his entire journey in the Emilian youth academy, also debuted. The midfielder, who can pair ball recovery and managing possession, earned the trust of Carlos Cuesta, who could already grant him more opportunities in this start of the season, even in light of Nicolussi Caviglia’s absence.
Palma, Udinese targets the class of 2008
In Udine, however, the name to keep an eye on is Matteo Palma. Kristensen’s departure to Atalanta seems to have definitively opened up an important space on Runjaic’s backline.
Palma, the defender born in 2008 in Germany and who has an Italian passport, already has appearances in Serie A with Udinese and experience in Serie B with Sampdoria behind him, despite his very young age. The Friulian club focuses on his qualities and his loan offer from Como provided further encouraging signs: at only 18 years old, he can already play an important role in the Bianconera defence this season.
From the youth academies to Serie A, an increasingly shorter pathway
These stories are born from different journeys, yet are tied to the clubs’ abilities to identify, train, and aid young players towards men’s football. From the first matchday, there were goals, assists, debuts, and above all important minutes which were distributed along most of the league.
Some have spent their whole journey in the same club, others have required a move into the Serie B or the Serie C, and others have arrived from abroad as teenagers to complete their training in Italy. The league has just begun, but the new Serie A season has already provided a long list of young names to look out for.
