Brazil Boss Tete Wants Italy International To Swap Allegiances

Manchester City's Fernandinho couldn't get in Tete's starting XI, but it appears he could receive more competition following the Brazil head coach reaching out to an Italian midfielder.

Tete started with Barcelona's Paulinho and Real Madrid's Casemiro in the middle of the park against Bolivia in their latest World Cup qualifier.

_{Casemiro challenging for the ball during the Bolivia qualifier. Image: PA}

Fernandinho, who churned out an incredible performance for Manchester City against Chelsea, eventually entered the fray in the second half to underline Tete's strength in depth.

Though if he has his way, he may be drafting in another star midfielder. Napoli's Jorginho's agent has confirmed that there is contact with Tete and the Brazil-born midfield.

Jorginho, 25, has two Italy caps to his name. But both appearances were international friendlies against Spain and Germany in 2016.

As a result, he's eligible to switch allegiances with Brazil hoping he makes himself available for the five-time World Cup winners.

_{Jorginho in action for Napoli. Images: PA}

Despite Italy's shortage of midfielders, Jorginho was again overlooked by Gian Piero Ventura.

Daniele De Rossi, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Marco Verratti and Claudio Marchisio are all absent through injuries, yet Jorginho has snubbed of a place in Italy's squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

_{Will Ventura pick Jorginho before potentially opting to represent Brazil? Image: PA}

Instead, Ventura selected Atalanta's Bryan Cristantand and Inter Milan's Roberto Gagliardini.

Jorginho admitted he wanted to represent Italy over Brazil. However, his continued exclusion from the 'Gli Azzurri' squad could prompt an international U-turn with Tete keeping tabs.

Meanwhile, Brazil were in action last night as they drew 0-0 at Bolivia 11,932 feet above sea level while they're set to play Chile next week.

Italy also finish their World Cup qualifying campaign with games against Macedonia then Albania.

(H/T Goal)

Topics: World Cup, Brazil, Italy

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado, and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Michael Bisping and Anthony Joshua. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

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