Antonio Conte has included seven new faces in a 28-man training squad as Italy step up their preparations for the European Championship.
The head coach has omitted Juventus and Milan players ahead of Saturday’s Coppa Italia final in Rome.
Marco Benassi, Danilo Cataldi, Armando Izzo, Leonardo Pavoletti, Marco Sportiello, Lorenzo Tonelli and Davide Zappacosta are the untested Serie A players summoned to Coverciano.
Conte will reduce the current selection on May 23 ahead of friendlies with Scotland and Finland, in Malta and Verona on May 29 and June 6, respectively.
Italy will then fly to Montpellier – their base for Euro 2016 – before facing Belgium in Lyon, Sweden in Toulouse and Ireland in Lille.
Ranieri wins League Managers’ award
Claudio Ranieri was named the League Managers’ Association (LMA) manager of the year after leading Leicester City to an im-probable Premier League title.
The 64-year-old is only the second non-British or Irish manager to win the accolade after Frenchman Arsene Wenger won it with Arsenal in 2002 and 2004.
The award on Monday capped a day of celebration for the Italian as he joined the players in a victory parade on an open-top bus through the streets of Leicester in front of about 250,000 ecstatic fans.
Lallana pours cold water on Spurs move
Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana has denied reports that he could move to Tottenham for a reunion with his former manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Lallana, who played under Pochettino at Southampton, said he was enjoying the best football of his career under German boss Juergen Klopp.
“I’ve got three years left on my contract,” Lallana said when asked about reports that Tottenham could bid for him.
“I have always had a good relationship with Pochettino. I am delighted he has had a very good season and I wanted him to win the league.
“But it is going to be very difficult (to leave Liverpool).”
Pizarro extends Werder deal to 2017
Werder Bremen’s all-time top scorer Claudio Pizarro extended his contract with the northern club by a year to 2017 after they narrowly avoided relegation on the final match-day.
The Peruvian, 37, is in his third spell at Werder after also playing for Bayern Munich and Chelsea.
“I feel very good and look forward to another year playing for the club,” he said in a statement.
“This was a tough season but also an amazing one for me. I hope we can finish in a better position next season.”
Defoe sad to miss out on Euro squad
Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe has expressed disappointment at being overlooked for England’s provisional squad for Euro 2016, despite ending the domestic season as the third-highest English goalscorer in the Premier League.
On Monday, England manager Roy Hodgson chose youth over experience in his 26-man squad, including Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford.
“Obviously, I’ve not been in-volved with England for quite a while and I’ve always thought that getting into an England squad before a tournament is based on merit,” Defoe, 33, said.
“I just feel like I’ve done everything that I could do. So, obviously, when you’re not in the squad, it’s a disappointment.”
CSKA Sofia back in Bulgarian top flight
Bulgaria’s most successful club CSKA Sofia will be allowed to compete in the Balkan country’s top division next season, the club said after their representatives secretly met with the country’s prime minister.
The 31-times Bulgarian champions said in a statement that they would be admitted into the domestic top flight after Prime Minister Boiko Borisov took “urgent and timely measures”.
Last June, CSKA were demoted to the third tier following their financial crisis. They are still unbeaten this season after scoring 138 goals in 30 matches.
Osvaldo axed
Italy striker Dani Osvaldo had his Boca Juniors contract terminated for disciplinary reasons, ending a short second spell with his favourite team.
Osvaldo, who has had several run-ins with the soccer authorities, including the English FA when he played for Southampton in 2013/14, had already been kicked out of the Boca first team squad by coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto last week.
The 30-year-old was caught smoking in the changing rooms at the Centenario in Montevideo after Thursday’s 1-1 draw at Uruguayan champions Nacional in the first leg of their Copa Libertadores quarter-final.