Manchester City ‘called for information’ on now-Inter and Italy superstar midfielder – Club told to ‘get him immediately’ | OneFootball

Nicolo Barella was subject to a ‘call for information’ from Manchester City during the early phase of his rise to ultimate top-level football with Inter and Italy.

The latest revelation concerning Inter midfielder Nicolo Barella comes after a summer in which Manchester City were claimed by some sources in Italy to have made enquiries over his potential signing after the UEFA Champions League final between the two clubs.

The 2023 summer transfer window saw Manchester City address their midfield ranks on two occasions, with the club moving for Mateo Kovacic early in the market and Matheus Nunes on transfer deadline day.

However, events concerning Barella may have not been relevant at all for Manchester City, had they have taken the advice of one coach over eight years ago, who insisted on the Premier League giants recruiting the player as a youngster.

Speaking during an interview with TV Play, relayed by TuttoMercatoWeb and translated by Sport Witness, coach Luigi De Biagio claims that at the time he worked for the Italy national team, he was personally asked by Manchester City about the potential of Nicolo Barella.

“Barella is one of those I brought up, he was 18 when he was with me in the Under-21s and they called from (Manchester) City for information,” De Biagio revealed. “What was he like as a boy on a professional level.”

He continued, “Today it’s easy to say, at that moment I said, ‘Get him immediately’. When a team asks you how he is as a person it means that on a technical level they know him.

“So I took the liberty of telling them to take him now because he has incredible room for improvement. Then he took a different path, better for Inter.”

At the time of Manchester City’s claimed call regarding Barella, the midfielder belonged to Cagliari and was playing for Italy’s youth ranks, before being signed by Inter Milan in 2019 in a €12 million loan deal and subsequent €32.5 million purchase.

The 27-year-old has once again played an integral role in Inter’s success, as the Italian club cruised to a Serie A crown with a 19-point gap on their competitors, with Barella registering 44 appearances, scoring twice, and providing seven assists.

There was to be no repeat in the UEFA Champions League for Barella and his teammates however, as they crashed out of the competition at the last-16 stage through a penalty shoot-out defeat to Atletico Madrid.