Locatelli, are you ready to play for Italy?
“More than ready as we prepared very well. I look forward to playing.”
There are high expectations surrounding this team.
“The team has a lot of quality. Many of us are have trained with the senior teams, and it shows. And then we have a solid group without any egos. We have everything to go a long way. We’ll work hard to win the European Championship and qualify for the World Cup.”
[Italy U21 boss Luigi] Di Biagio has also complimented you.
“I thank him. His words filled me with pride.”
Berlusconi said that among Milan’s youth team there is an extraordinary boy named Locatelli.
“I got goosebumps when I heard those words. What he said was incredible.”
And you don’t feel the pressure?
“No, no pressure. Only great pride that it is one more incentive to work, improve and grow fast.”
Mihajlovic said he wants you to play more vertically.
“He’s right (laughs). The coach is helping me so much, it’s an honour to have the opportunity to train with the first team.”
Milan believes in young people.
“Milan is the perfect place to grow. [Gianluigi] Donnarumma and [Davide] Calabria are proof of how the club is focused on giving youth a chance in the first team. Thanks to [Cristian] Brocchi I grew up, he and the Galli have incorporated a culture of work and identity that few have.”
Did you expect Donnarumma to be ready for Serie A.
“I don’t think even he expected a season like this. In short, you could see he was a great goalkeeper, but at 16 years to mind the goal in the Serie A is the stuff of phenomenons. With Gigi I have a great relationship. We both lived at the boarding school, we grew up together, and I’m super happy for him. With Donnarumma, Milan will be safe for many years.”
And Locatelli will be the new [Riccardo] Montolivo?
“I hope so. The captain is a fantastic person as well as a great champion. He gives me a lot of advice in training, and I try to take as much from him as possible when I train with him. But my hero in the Rossoneri remains Kaka. I grew up watching his exploits.”
So you feel ready for the A?
“I hope so. It would be a dream to debut this year.”
great prospect