American players are shining across Europe’s top leagues, from Chris Richards in England’s Premier League to Folarin Balogun in France’s Ligue 1. But Italy’s Serie A—one of the oldest, toughest and most celebrated leagues in Europe—has emerged as an unlikely home for several key USMNT stars.
With multiple Americans putting in game-deciding shifts over the past week, here’s who USMNT fans should be keeping an eye on in Italy.
Gianluca Busio, midfielder. At just 22 years old, Busio is a fringe player for the USMNT, but his performances for Italian club Venezia this season might earn him his well-deserved breakthrough.
Busio joined Venezia back in 2021, and his transfer fee of $6.5M made him the club’s most expensive transfer of all time. Busio has delivered upon that title by becoming Venezia’s indefatigable midfield metronome.
His reliability was key to the team’s promotion from the second division last season. He’s capable of delivering some beautiful goals from distance, too. This weekend, he delivered Venezia’s first win of the 2024-25 season with a perfectly-placed curling shot from outside the penalty box. Busio has hovered just outside of the USMNT’s starting lineup for years, but new USMNT boss Mauricio Pochettino would do well to consider him for the squad’s October camp.
