Mancini is looking for new faces in the Premier League

Roberto Mancini continues to build his vision for the Italian national team after returning to the managerial position. He has begun scouting several Italian players in the English Premier League as part of a three-match tour before his first official match in his new role. The Italian coach chose England as a crucial stop in his search for new talent, observing a number of players, including Sandro Tonali and Destiny Uduji of Tottenham, Michael Kayode of Leeds, and Riccardo Calafiori and Matteo Ruggeri in the matches against Arsenal and Aston Villa, respectively. Mancini's first stop was the Tottenham-Newcastle match, where he watched Tonali and Uduji from the stands as Tottenham suffered a 2-0 defeat. The Italian coach is paying particular attention to Tonali following his move to the London club, as the midfielder is considered a key player in his plans for the upcoming period. The tour continues on Sunday at Leeds' stadium, where Mancini will attend the Leeds-Brentford match to observe Michael Kayode, who is on the national team's radar. Leeds striker Wilfried Nyonto will miss the game due to injury, depriving the manager of the opportunity to assess him on the pitch. The third and final stop is on Monday when Aston Villa host Arsenal. This match will give Mancini the chance to watch Ruggeri and Calafiori as he seeks to evaluate the defensive options available to the national team before announcing his first squad. Ruggeri joined Aston Villa during the summer transfer window from Atlético Madrid, while Calafiori is entering his third season with Arsenal after moving to the London club from Bologna in the summer of 2014. Mancini's scouting isn't limited to the English Premier League; he was also spotted in the stands at the Parma-Cagliari match in the opening round of Serie A, as part of his efforts to identify as many players as possible before selecting his first squad. This tour comes less than a month before Italy's UEFA Nations League campaign begins. The national team kicks off against Belgium on September 25th, followed by a match against Turkey three days later. They will then face France and Turkey again on October 2nd and 5th, respectively, in Group 1 of League A. Mancini is currently working to broaden his squad selection, particularly with several players gaining experience in England. This makes this tour an opportunity to assess players in competitive matches before making his decisions regarding the upcoming Italian national team roster.