Genoa: Toni still thinking Azzurro

Luca Toni. Remember him? The expression in the photo should jog your memory. It followed pretty much every attempt on goal he had in an Italy shirt in recent years.

After moving to Genoa this pre-season from Bayern Munich he has his sights set, once again, on playing for the Azzurri. My opinion is that he has missed his opportunity. His dire performance at Euro 2008 put the nail in the coffin that was his Azzurri career. Surely!

He is one of a string of Italian forwards that just seem to choke at national level. Players like Toni, Di Natale, Iaquinta have all under performed miserably for Italy in recent times. Think back to Vieri, Inzaghi and Del Piero when the goals used to flow in and their failure just becomes more amplified.

Italy have a string of forwards waiting in the wings for their chance in this Prandelli era. My feeling is that Toni has had his chance and blown it.

Juventus: Kolorov or Elia for left fullback position?

Juve are reportedly after a left back. Not as back up for De Ceglie but to replace him. The number one priority is Lazio's Aleksander Kolorov with Dutchman Elia also a option for the bianconeri.

What happens to De Ceglie should Juve land one of their targets? Here's another example of Italian clubs not having faith in their own players. De Ceglie has the potential to improve this season and perhaps even break into the national team. If he is forced to play out the season on the bench then his development could be stunted. Let's not forget Juve also had Azzurri leftback Criscito on their books until they off loaded him permanently to Genoa last month.

Surely a leftback pairing of Criscito and De Ceglie makes more sense than spending big money on what could be 'flash in the pan' players like Elia.