Roberto Mancini has confirmed Moise Kean will not feature for Italy during the international break after arriving late to a meeting. Four-time world champions Italy take on Armenia and Finland in Euro 2020 qualifying this week as Gli Azzurri look to maintain their perfect start, having racked up four victories from as many games to sit top of Group J.
One of Everton’s summer arrivals, Kean, was due to be part of the squad for those matches but a failure to turn up to a team meeting on time has forced Mancini into handing out a punishment to the forward.
The former Manchester City boss has confirmed the 19-year-old and Roma’s Nicolo Zaniolo, who also failed to attend the meeting on time, will play no part in the upcoming fixtures because “professionals must always behave well”.
Speaking about the duo at his press conference on Tuesday, Mancini said: “I’m sure they’ll [Kean and Zaniolo] come in handy later on. I don’t like leaving them behind as punishment They’re still young. “We gave them a great opportunity and we hope this helps them going forward. They must learn to behave well. Professionals must always behave well.”
Kean’s punishment comes just days after Graeme Souness criticised the attitude of the Italian following Everton’s 3-2 victory at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday.
The former Liverpool and Newcastle United manager has received a backlash on social media for his comments. If you haven’t heard his remarks, have a listen to the clip below.
The Toffees splashed out an initial £27.5million to sign Kean from Italian champions Juventus this summer and the move was a real coup with the forward highly regarded across Europe.
Marco Silva has played the Vercelli-born star in all four Premier League games this season and the summer arrival was handed his first start in that victory over Wolves at the weekend.
Kean, who signed a five-year contract with Everton, is yet to open his account but there have been enough positives from his performances so far this term to suggest he can become a big hit on Merseyside.
The forward will now have to wait until September 15 before getting back into footballing action, when Everton make the Premier League trip to Bournemouth, who lost 3-1 at Leicester City last time out.
Silva’s men currently occupy sixth position in England’s top flight, having amassed seven points from four matches, and they will be hopeful of breaking the top-six dominance this season.
