As the 2018-19 season began, Inter had finally got their man. The Nerazzurri had spent a great deal of time chasing A.S. Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan, who had been among the most highly regarded players in the league for quite some time. His tenacity in the tackle and sublime level of skill allowed those who courted him to overlook any disciplinary problems that had blighted his career. Such was the attraction of signing a man who could create and score chances for fun.

With Financial Fair Play restrictions in place, it was not uncommon that Inter offered the Giallorossi two players in exchange in order that the actual cash price for Nainggolan be lowered. In this case, 28-year-old left back Davide Santon was deemed surplus to requirements, and 19-year-old midfielder Nicolò Zaniolo was also allowed to leave for the Italian capital. 

“I was very skeptical of the Nainggolan signing to begin with,” Nima Tavallaey Roodsari, founder of SempreInter.com, told FloFC. “In my opinion it felt like a repeat of the Hernanes signing from Lazio, in that the Belgian had already peaked and was on his way down.

“Inter’s decision to offload Santon as well as Zaniolo and cash seemed like a good deal at the time, from a financial point of view, in that Santon struggled a lot at Inter, and including Zaniolo in the deal meant Inter had to lower the cash part.”

Yet while Nainggolan is still struggling to find form at Inter—with just two goals and nine starting appearances in the opening 20 Serie A matches of the season—Roma boss Eusebio Di Francesco has found the form of youngster Zaniolo impossible to ignore when selecting his starting XI.

Born in 1999, the former Fiorentina youth product has become the youngest player to score at least two goals in the Italian top flight, delighting audiences in Rome’s Stadio Olimpico with superb performances in his eight starts so far this term. Interest in the young player peaked with a both skilful and determined finish in a 3-2 win over Torino in week 20, prompting questions over whether Inter had made a mistake in letting him go. 

“Zaniolo was one of the best players in Stefano Vecchi’s all-conquering Inter Primavera team, but unproven at the highest level, so it was a risk,” continued Nima. “Now it looks like it was a huge mistake letting him go as Inter misjudged how ready he was as a player. In my honest opinion, it does look like Inter got the shorter end of the stick in this deal.”

Followers of the Italian national team will also be keenly following his performances, as Zaniolo has already inserted himself in the U21 side and has caught the eye of Azzurri boss Roberto Mancini. 

“I’m glad Zaniolo played because I’d followed him at the Euro U19 Championship, where he did very well, and he’s impressed me a lot,” Mancini confessed to Radio Anch’io Sport at the beginning of December.

“He has all the qualities we need, including being left-footed. He’s caught my eye and I’ve wanted to see him live. I’m glad he can play for his club.”

It’s interesting to note that it’s not just those who have an outside interest that rate the player, with the youngster already firmly embedded in the Giallorossi supporters’ hearts. 

“I think he’s done extremely well and exceeded everyone’s expectations—to the point that marquee summer signing, Javier Pastore, now seems to be a surplus to requirements,” RomaPress founder John Solano revealed exclusively to FloFC. “His technical ability is incredibly impressive as is his capacity to read the game and take on defenders. 

“I think with a bit more growth, he can truly become a world-class talent because he already plays well beyond his actual age.”

Helping young players develop is no problem at all for Roma boss Di Francesco, who has a proven track record in doing so at previous club Sassuolo. Both Fiorentina and Inter may live to regret letting Zaniolo go, as it increasingly looks like Roma have struck gold by capturing his signing last summer.

Chloe Beresford specializes in Serie A for a number of outlets and can be found on Twitter and on Facebook via her page CalcioByChloe.