# Nicholas Pierini

Nicholas Pierini (born 6 August 1998) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie B club Sassuolo.

## Club career
### Sassuolo

On 29 October 2017, Pierini made his professional debut in Serie A for Sassuolo as a substitute replacing Luca Mazzitelli in the 71st minute of a 3–1 away defeat against Napoli. On 20 December he played his first match as a starter in Coppa Italia, a 2–1 away defeat against Atalanta in the round of 16, he was replaced by Diego Falcinelli in the 54th minute.

#### Loan to Spezia

On 10 July 2018, Pierini was signed by Serie B side Spezia on a season-long loan deal. On 4 August he made his debut for Spezia and he scored his first professional goal in the 66th minute of a 2–1 home win over Sambenedettese in the second round of Coppa Italia, he was replaced by Luca Vignali after 85 minutes. Three weeks later, on 25 August, he made his Serie B debut for Spezia as a substitute replacing Emmanuel Gyasi in the 64th minute of a 1–0 away defeat against Venezia. One week later, on 1 September, Pierini scored twice in a 3–2 home win over Brescia. On 27 October he played his first entire match for the team, a 0–0 away draw against Padova. Pierini ended his season-long loan with 27 appearances and 6 goals.

#### Loan to Cosenza

On 9 August 2019, Pierini was loaned to Serie B side Cosenza on season-long loan deal. On 11 August he made his debut for the club in a 1–0 away defeat against Monopoli in the second round of Coppa Italia, he played the entire match. On 24 August he made his league debut for Cosenza in a 0–0 away draw against Crotone, he was replaced Riccardo Moreo after 74 minutes. One week later he played his first entire match for Cosenza, a 1–0 home defeat against Salernitana. On 24 September, Pierini scored his first goal for Cosenza, as a substitute, in the 94th minute of a 1–1 home draw against Livorno. On 10 November he scored twice in a 2–2 away draw against Trapani. Pierini ended his loan to Cosenza with 21 appearances, 3 goals and 1 assist.

#### Loan to Ascoli and Modena

On 5 October 2020, Pierini joined Serie B club Ascoli on loan for the 2020-21 season. On 17 October he made his debut for the club, as a starter in a 1–0 away defeat against Frosinone, he played the entire match. However in January 2021 his loan was interrupted and he returned to Sassuolo leaving Ascoli with 12 appearances, only 5 of them as a starter and one assist.
On 1 February 2021, he moved on a new loan to Serie C club Modena. On the next day, Pierini made his debut for his new club as a substitute replacing Sodinha in the 78th minute of a 1–1 home draw against Triestina. On 21 March he played his first match as a starter for Modena in a 1–0 home win over Cesena, he was replaced by Enrico Bearzotti in the 82nd minute. On 18 April he scored his first goal for the club in the 53rd minute of a 3–0 home win over Padova. One week later, on 25 April, he scored his second goal in the 75th minute of a 3–0 home win over Legnago. Pierini ended his 6-months loan to Modena 12 appearances, 3 goals and 3 assists, he also helped the club to reach the play-offs, but Modena was elimininated 2–1 on aggregate against AlbinoLeffe in the round of 16.

### Cesena

On 31 August 2021, he signed a four-year contract with Cesena.

### Venezia

On 13 July 2022, Pierini moved to Venezia on a four-year contract. He contributed to their promotion back to Serie A and played his first top-level games in six years early in the 2024–25 season.

### Return to Sassuolo

On 30 August 2024, Pierini signed with Sassuolo in Serie B.

## Personal life

He is a son of former Italy international footballer and current coach Alessandro Pierini.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 26 December 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | Europe | Europe | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Sassuolo | 2017–18 | Serie A | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 |
| Spezia (loan) | 2018–19 | Serie B | 25 | 5 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 27 | 6 |
| Cosenza (loan) | 2019–20 | Serie B | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 21 | 3 |
| Ascoli (loan) | 2020–21 | Serie B | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 12 | 0 |
| Modena (loan) | 2020–21 | Serie C | 10 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 12 | 3 |
| Cesena | 2021–22 | Serie C | 35 | 12 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 2 | 1 | 38 | 14 |
| Venezia | 2022–23 | Serie B | 35 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 1 | 36 | 5 |
| Venezia | 2023–24 | Serie B | 38 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 1 | 43 | 6 |
| Venezia | 2024–25 | Serie A | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 |
| Venezia | Total | Total | 75 | 9 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 2 | 82 | 11 |
| Sassuolo | 2024–25 | Serie B | 16 | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 17 | 8 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 196 | 40 | 8 | 2 | — | — | 9 | 3 | 213 | 45 |
* 1 2 All appearance(s) in Serie C play-off.
* 1 2 Appearances in Serie B – Promotion play-offs