he questions surrounding Nicolo Tresoldi are becoming increasingly difficult for Germany U21 head coach Antonio Di Salvo to avoid.
Jürgen Klopp has now overseen four matches as Germany Bundestrainer without a single goal from one of his recognized center forwards. Kai Havertz, Nick Woltemade and Jonathan Burkardt have all featured without finding the back of the net. Tresoldi, meanwhile, enters Germany U21’s final European Championship qualifier against Georgia as the leading scorer across the entire UEFA qualifying competition with ten goals.
The 22-year-old’s numbers have inevitably intensified discussion surrounding a possible senior promotion. Get German Football News‘ latest Germany U21 tactical review already covered Tresoldi’s highly successful international break for Di Salvo’s side. Di Salvo, however, has been fielding questions about Tresoldi’s international future for considerably longer.
Di Salvo “leaves Tresoldi in peace”
The Germany U21 coach – himself of German and Italian heritage – has spent more than two years answering questions about where Tresoldi’s international future ultimately lies. Tresoldi was born in Cagliari and remains eligible to represent Germany, Italy or Argentina at senior level. The striker himself publicly left the door open to representing Italy last year, ensuring that his development remains of interest well beyond the DFB.
At a DFB press conference last week, Tresoldi emphasized that his personal feelings on the matter left him evenly split inside. The former Hannover 96 academy product speaks excellent German after living in the Bundesrepublik since the age of 13. Within his very faint accent, however, one can still detect his attachment to his Italian heritage.
Italian national team head coach Roberto Mancini has confirmed contact with Tresoldi and expressed hope that the young talent will switch to the Squadra Azzurra. Di Salvo nevertheless still insists he is not attempting to force the issue.
“Insofar as it’s possible, I leave him in peace,” Di Salvo said when asked whether he was actively attempting to convince Tresoldi to commit himself permanently to Germany. “There’s enough talk of him playing for Germany, Italy, or even Argentina. I think the captain’s armband is enough of a sign pointing towards where I would like to see him.”
The armband has indeed become one of the clearest signals of Tresoldi’s standing within the German setup.
After Tom Bischof departed the U21 camp to join Klopp’s senior squad, Tresoldi assumed the captaincy and has remained one of Di Salvo’s most important players throughout the final qualification push. His role extends well beyond the goals. Tresoldi has operated as the fixed central reference around which Di Salvo’s increasingly narrow attacking structure functions.
The Club Brugge striker provides a conventional presence through the middle while allowing Germany’s wide attackers and advanced midfielders to move around him. That specific profile is also something Di Salvo believes may eventually prove useful at senior level.
“I see him to be on a good path,” Di Salvo said when asked how Tresoldi compares with Germany’s current senior center forwards. “He’s one of the strikers who can become important to the senior team. He’s doing exceptionally well. His production numbers for the U21s and his Belgian club are good. He was the leading goal-scorer in the Belgian Pro League last year.”
Di Salvo then made perhaps his most interesting observation.
“It’s important to let the statistics speak for themselves,” the 47-year-old continued. “He’s a classic center forward. We don’t have many of those.”
Di Salvo refuses to turn Tresoldi form into criticism of senior strikers
The obvious temptation is to connect that assessment directly to Germany’s current senior-team scoring problems. Klopp’s first four matches have generated no goals from Havertz, Woltemade or Burkardt, while Tresoldi continues to score prolifically one level below. Di Salvo nevertheless refused to frame the discussion as a choice between Tresoldi and the players already in Klopp’s squad.
“At the same time, we nevertheless have great strikers on the senior team who were legitimately nominated,” Di Salvo stressed. “Nicolo is one of several who is good enough to play for the senior team.”
Tresoldi’s case for eventual promotion continues to strengthen without necessarily requiring an immediate demotion for anyone else. Germany’s increasingly fluid relationship between the senior and U21 squads has already seen Bischof, Said El Mala, Finn Jeltsch and others move between levels as Klopp and Di Salvo attempt to manage the country’s young talent collectively.
Tresoldi’s situation is more complicated because the DFB cannot simply assume that he will remain available indefinitely.
Nicolo Tresoldi speaks on his future
Tresoldi himself continues to resist the idea that his immediate future must already involve senior international football.
“I have to take it step-by-step,” he said after Germany’s latest U21 victory. “My next step is here. I want to be here. Last time around, we lost a European Championship final against the England U21s. I want to celebrate a European Championship together with the boys and score as many goals as possible.”
“Jürgen Klopp has already said everything at his press conference,” Tresoldi added when asked about his contact with the Bundestrainer. “The last time I spoke to him was before the international break. I don’t think there’s anything much more to add to that.”
