Luca Pellegrini (footballer, born 1999)
Luca Pellegrini (born 7 March 1999) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a left back for club Juventus and the Italy national team. Club career. Roma. On 17 April 2018, Pellegrini signed his first professional contract with A.S. Roma keeping him at the club until 2021. Pellegrini joined the first team in the 2018–19 season, aged 19. He made his professional and Serie A debut in a 4–0 win over Frosinone on 26 September 2018, making the assist for Aleksandar Kolarov's goal. He made his UEFA Champions League debut on 2 October  2018, in the group stage match won 5–0 against FC Viktoria Plzeň. Loan to Cagliari. On 31 January 2019, Pellegrini joined Cagliari on loan until 30 June 2019. Juventus. On 30 June 2019, Luca Pellegrini joined Serie A champions Juventus for €22 million, with Leonardo Spinazzola moving in the opposite direction for €29.5 million. On 19 August 2019, he rejoined Cagliari on loan for the 2019–20 season. On 26 September 2020, Pellegrini moved to Genoa on a one-year loan. International career. Pellegrini made his debut with the Italy U21 team on 11 October 2018, in a friendly  match lost 1–0 against Belgium. With the Italy U20 side he took part in the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, in which Italy achieved a fourth–place finish. He received his first call up to the Italy senior squad for the team's UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches against Armenia and Finland in September 2019. He made his senior debut with Italy on 11 November 2020, featuring as a substitute in a 4–0 friendly win over Estonia in Florence. Despite appearing in earlier qualifiers, he was not selected for Italy's 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squad. He was unavailable  for selection as he was suffering from a persistent adductor muscle injury beginning in February 2021. Style of play. Although he usually plays as a left-back, Pellegrini has also been used as an offensive-minded central midfielder, known as the "mezzala" role, in Italian. A physically powerful and technically gifted defender, he is also known for his quality, stamina, consistency, and work-rate. Regarded in the media as a promising young player, in July 2019 he was included in UEFA.com's "50 for the future" list of "ones to watch in 2019–20." Personal life. On 30 September 2020, Pellegrini  tested positive for COVID-19 amid its pandemic in Italy. Honours. Italy U20