Milan full-back Davide Calabria is the player who has made by far the most successful tackles in Serie A this season.

The surprising statistic was collated by Opta and La Gazzetta dello Sport, as with 92 tackles this term, Calabria completed 18 more than any other player.

He is way ahead of Napoli full-back Giovanni Di Lorenzo on 74.

There follows from then on mainly midfielders, namely Morten Thorsby (Sampdoria, 72), Manuel Locatelli (Sassuolo, 71), Marten de Roon (Atalanta, 67), Juraj Kucka (Parma, 63) and Adrien Rabiot (Juventus 63).

Spezia coach Vincenzo Italiano expects a ‘difficult’ task against Napoli on Saturday. ‘They have players at an international level’.

The Aquilotti are without a win in four games and dangerously close to relegation after 34 games, as they sit only three points above Benevento at 18th.

Italiano prepares for a clash with the Partenopei at the Stadio Alberto Picco tomorrow and claimed Napoli are ‘one of the strongest teams’ in Serie A.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Napoli could sell Kalidou Koulibaly for €50m in the summer with Liverpool, Barcelona and the two Manchester clubs interested.

The Senegal international will see his contract expire in June 2023 and the Partenopei’s President Aurelio De Laurentiis could agree to sell him for €50m in the summer.

According to Tuttosport, Zinedine Zidane and Gennaro Gattuso are two possible candidates to replace Andrea Pirlo at the end of the season.

The former midfielder could be sacked regardless of Juventus’ final position in the Serie A table.

The Old Lady can’t afford to miss out on a top-four finish, but earning a Champions League spot is not the only condition for the Maestro’s permanence at the club.

According to La Repubblica newspaper, the top European leagues, including Serie A, could be reduced to 18 teams to balance the increasing amount of European fixtures.

The new Champions League format that will be launched in the 2024-25 campaign will see an extra 100 games added to an already tight fixture list.

Udinese took the rare step of releasing a statement to deny reports Rodrigo De Paul had met with Inter or Milan this afternoon.

The rumour mill took off when De Paul was spotted dining at the Botinero restaurant in Milan, which is co-owned by Inter President Javier Zanetti.

“Udinese Calcio wish to clarify, avoiding any possible misunderstanding, that today Rodrigo De Paul was in Milan to visit the Argentine Consolate with his family and was accompanied by club representatives for bureaucratic reasons.”

Jorginho is in the Champions League Final with Chelsea, but his agent confirms he’d be open to Napoli or Milan, and would currently cost €50m.

The midfielder impressed during last night’s 2-0 win over Real Madrid, securing their 3-1 aggregate semi-final victory.

“He would also like a return to Italy, but I think it will be in a couple of years and not now,” agent Joao Santos told Radio Kiss Kiss.

The representative was asked which club in Serie A could draw Jorginho in, for example Napoli or Milan?

Milan and Napoli have a surprise new challenger in the battle for free agent Florian Thauvin, with reports he’s heading to Mexico for Tigres.

The 28-year-old winger will not renew his contract with Olympique Marseille, which is set to expire on June 30.

He had been attracted to a new Serie A experience, with Milan and Napoli long showing interest, or a return to the Premier League after his stint at Newcastle United.

However, Sky Sport Italia transfer expert Fabrizio Romano claims that Tigres have made an offer for a contract until June 2026.

The Coppa Italia format will change from next season and the fans react. ‘The romance of the cup is dead’.

The tournament had been open to Serie C and even Serie D teams from the earliest stages, but the Lega opted to adjust to make the games more ‘appetising’ for TV rights and viewers.

Fans have reacted to the news that only the 20 Serie A and 20 Serie B clubs will participate, starting from next season.