Why I snubbed UAE offers, admits Burnley starlet Koleosho

Burnely talent Luca Koleosho is an ‘interesting profile’ for Italy and he has revealed why he snubbed offers from the United Arab Emirates after leaving Napoli last summer.

The Azzurri CT spoke to Casa Italia, which Rai Italia and Rai Play aired on Friday. The Certaldo-born tactician won the first Scudetto for Napoli in 33 years in 2022-23 but left the Stadio Maradona in the summer. He was appointed by Italy to replace Roberto Mancini this past September.

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“Napoli was a fantastic experience; I had received offers from the United Arab Emirates and other leagues, where I would have been very well-remunerated,” said the Azzurri coach, as quoted by Calciomercato.com.

“However, it was not the kind of football I liked. Then, the national team called and I fulfilled my dream.”

Spalletti has recently led Italy to the 2024 Euros, where the Azzurri will defend the title won in 2021 after beating England on penalties in a Final at Wembley Stadium. Italy have been drawn with Spain, Croatia and Albania in the EURO 2024 group stage.

“We will go to Germany to fight on all fronts,” assured the coach.

“We can only aim for the top as we are the defending champions. We can’t aim for something less than the Euro 2020 result even if it will be difficult to do the same.”

Spalletti also spoke about potential new faces he could add to the squad in the coming months, starting with Fiorentina talent Michael Kayode, who has made his Serie A debut this season and helped Italy U19 win the European Championship last summer by scoring the winner in a Final against Portugal U19.

“I had already called him up, but he sustained an injury,” revealed Spalletti.

“Now, we’ll assess him again. Luca Koleosho of Burnley is another pretty interesting profile.”

Koleosho, 19, was born in the USA but has an Italian passport. He has recently scored his first Premier League goal in a 5-0 victory over Sheffield United.