GdS: 'Camarda-gol' hits Italy U17s - the latest on his renewal and the interested clubs

AC Milan are aware they have a potential generational talent on their hands in Francesco Camarda, and now they are hoping to lock him down at least for the medium-term.

As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) reports this morning, Camarda is Italy’s most talked-about 16-year-old and he also made headlines over the weekend.

On Saturday he scored two goals against Belgium with Italy U17s, won a penalty and created another goal, which ended up on the scoresheet as an own-goal.

And so, the Milan fans are back to asking themselves the classic question of recent weeks: will he extend his deal, given that he can now do so having turned 16?

The situation

For an answer, we need to wait. Milan reached an agreement in principle for Camarda in recent weeks but that agreement is put to the test of time.

Milan have included Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the picture and Camarda continues to receive compliments and interest from the big European teams, who know well that there are no other 2008-born players who make their debut in the top flight and score well below their age in the UEFA Youth League.

In the last few days there have been no meetings and you don’t need a fortune teller to predict that March will pass like this, i.e. without any shocks or any huge updates.

If Camarda signs a three-year contract with Milan, it will be in the summer – from July – with a strategic advantage: a three-year contract, in that case, would begin with 2024-25 and would also extend to the 2026-27 season.

Manchester double

It remains to be seen whether the wait will help Milan or not. The big European teams have been interested for some time, with Borussia Dortmund the club that have been tracking him for the longest time.

Manchester City have the advantage of being able to exploit their link with Palermo, who are part of the City Football Group, but the other half of Manchester – the red one – are also more than attentive.

Camarda cannot go to England at 16 – the post-Brexit rules prohibit it – but many big clubs offer him a gradual growth path between youth teams, a possible second team and a loan, which is always possible.

Despite being a few years younger the forward has the attention of a 20-year-old and he has to make a 20-year-old decision: bond himself to Milan or change his life.

Paez and Endrick

Meanwhile, the world doesn’t wait. During the break, Camarda also started against Netherlands U17, a match that ended with a penalty and a great move for Mattia Liberali’s goal.

Last night, however, he probably watched Kendry Paez on TV, who is just a year older than him (he was born in 2007) but at dinner time he played against Spalletti’s Italy. Not U17, the first team.

Just two days ago Endrick, born in 2006, played 20 minutes and scored the decisive goal for Brazil against England at Wembley. Moral of the story: no matter how fast you are going on your path, there is very likely someone going faster.