Now on loan at Monza from Torino, Armando Izzo is playing regularly, but his career could have been very different, with a transfer to Arsenal once possible.
However, it never formalised, with the defender deciding to stick around with the Serie A side and ignore transfer sirens, which he now regrets.
The player said as much in an interview with Cronache di Spogliatoio, relayed by Sport Italia, where he mentioned Arsenal trying to sign him after the 2018-19 season.
That year, Torino managed to qualify for Europe, which Izzo played a big part in with his impressive performances at the back, and there was hope that the interest from clubs would continue after his extra year in Turin, but that wasn’t to be.
He said: “The year I renewed with Torino, after qualifying for Europe, my former agent and the president Urbano Cairo told me that Arsenal and Conte’s Inter Milan were there. I had feeling for Toro, I believed in the project and I stayed another year. That year, I scored six goals and I didn’t hear from any team.
“I asked myself ‘how is it possible that there is no team?’. Then, after two years, Bremer, with four goals and finishing 10th, he goes to Juventus. My dream was to go to Inter, I’ve never been able to.”
Instead of signing Izzo, that summer saw Arsenal spend money on bringing in the likes of David Luiz, William Saliba and Kieran Tierney to bolster their defence.
The Italian defender ended up staying at Torino until this year, when the loan to Monza was arranged, as he didn’t seem to feature in Ivan Juric’s plans.
