There are 21 British players at Italian clubs this season, more than ever before, and the majority of them are English. Among the leading names in that group are internationals John Stones and Djed Spence, who moved to Inter after the World Cup.
The first Englishman to represent an Italian club is a far less familiar figure. Charles Adcock, a former soldier, moved to Padova just after the second world war after being spotted playing for the British army. By a strange quirk of fate, he never played league football in his own country, and after a handful of years in Italy he returned to England in 1953 to play for non-league Peterborough United. In the 80 years after his move, more than 50 English players have followed him into Serie A.
Earlier generations arrived in distinct waves. In the 1980s, Trevor Francis — the first £1m player — joined Sampdoria in 1982 and came up against Mark Hateley and Ray Wilkins, both of whom spent three seasons at Milan in the mid-1980s. Paul Gascoigne was the big English star in Italy in the 1990s, joined by journeymen such as Franz Carr and Danny Dichio. At any point across those two decades, only a handful of Englishmen were playing in Serie A, compared with the 15 who are with Italian clubs now.
Those émigrés were followed by fans back home on Gazzetta Football Italia, hosted by James Richardson. Coverage of Serie A in Britain now sits with TNT, headed up by the commentator Adam Summerton, who describes the current influx as multifaceted. “It starts with the trailblazers,” Summerton says. “Someone like Liam Henderson, who’s been in Italy since 2018. Chris Smalling was another in 2019.” Smalling spent five years at Roma and was the player of the match when they won the inaugural Conference League final in 2022 under José Mourinho.
Summerton also points to how Italian clubs view the British market. “Italian sporting directors have said how they really value the hard work, professionalism and tenacity of Scottish players in particular,” he says. “They have also developed a reputation for being good in the dressing room – that’s really appealing when you’re building a team.”
He believes attitudes have changed, too, describing the new intake as more rounded characters who actively enjoy a different culture. “The world has become a smaller place, and the modern player seems more likely to see opportunity rather than difficulty in the challenges that come with playing abroad,” Summerton says. “Players often talk about becoming more mature and more rounded for the experience, both as people and players.” Many, he adds, aim to embrace culture, language and even food — Scott McTominay’s appreciation of Neapolitan tomatoes has become well-known.
The Scottish influence in particular has shifted perceptions. Lewis Ferguson, who moved to Bologna in 2022, was voted Serie A midfielder of the season in 2023-24 and was the club’s captain when they beat Milan in the Coppa Italia final last year. Following on from that success, McTominay joined Napoli and won the Serie A player of the season award as the club claimed their first league title since the days of Diego Maradona.
The traditions of Italian football matter to the players as well. Fikayo Tomori has talked about looking at the Milan badge on his tracksuit every day and taking such pride in playing for the club, and he made a concerted effort to learn the language after joining in 2020, soon conducting interviews in Italian. That runs against the notion that British players are reluctant to assimilate.
Coaching at Premier League academies has also advanced, producing technically adept players who suit Serie A. Omari Hutchinson, a product of Chelsea’s academy, has just moved to Milan on loan from Nottingham Forest. His move points to a more prosaic factor: the economic imbalance between the Premier League and its European counterparts. “Good players who might be on the fringes of a Premier League side see Italy as a chance to be a more important player in a big league with a big-name club,” Summerton says.
Inter best illustrate the shift. The club signed Curtis Jones from Liverpool this summer to join Spence and Stones, having previously signed only three English players in their history: Gerry Hitchens in 1961, Paul Ince in 1995 and Ashley Young in 2020. Stones, who swapped Manchester for Milan in the summer, made his delight at joining such a football institution clear. “I have so many emotions. I’m really happy, proud and excited,” he said. “I couldn’t imagine a better place to do it.”
Summerton expects Jones to make an impression. “The early signs from Jones are good,” he says. “He’s a profile of player that Cristian Chivu, the Inter coach, really wanted.” His performance for Liverpool against Inter in the Champions League last season, Summerton suggests, sowed the seed.
At Como, meanwhile, Trevoh Chalobah has walked into one of the more intriguing projects in Europe. “I’m also really excited for Trevoh Chalobah,” Summerton says. “He’s walked into one of the most exciting projects in world football right now at Como. Cesc Fàbregas is doing tremendous work there. He has started the season really well and they are already strong defensively.” Chalobah knows what to expect from Fàbregas, having trained with him at Chelsea. “I remember how demanding he was with the younger players,” the centre-back says. “I know him really well.” As Summerton notes, he also gets to live next to Lake Como and play Champions League football.