Who is Riccardo Cassano, the 2009-born player called up by Mancini to the Italy squad?

A Como midfielder, he is the youngest on the list: a favourite of Fabregas, but he has yet to make his first-team debut.

The 11th round of league fixtures is the last before another international break, when national teams play Nations League matches and friendlies. In Nations League A Group 1, Italy are drawn alongside Turkey, France and Belgium. Mancini's Azzurri will face France on 12 November and Belgium on 15 November respectively. Mancini has changed 12 players from his previous squad, with some earning their first call-up: AC Milan's Cissé, Parma's Lontani and Como's Liberali and Cassano.

The youngest player on the list, Riccardo Cassano is a midfielder born in 2009 and one of Cesc Fabregas's favourites. The manager is waiting for the right moment to give him his first-team debut. He is a deep-lying playmaker who can play centrally in a three-man midfield or as a holding midfielder in a two-man midfield. He has excellent vision, and those who know him well say he plays with the composure of a 30-year-old. His role model is his team-mate Perrone, while the Spanish manager has compared his attributes to those of Pirlo and Iniesta.

Mancini could give Cassano his Italy debut before he has even played in Serie A, just as he did with Nicolò Zaniolo. Italy face France on 12 November, then Belgium on the 15th. Either match could be a turning point for Cassano. Here is Mancini's full squad for the next two Nations League matches.

GOALKEEPERS: Marco Carnesecchi (Atalanta), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Manchester City), Guglielmo Vicario (Juventus).

DEFENDERS: Honest Ahanor (Crystal Palace), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Daniele Ghilardi (Roma), Michael Kayode (Brentford), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Marco Palestra (Chelsea), Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta).

MIDFIELDERS: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Riccardo Cassano (Como), Issa Doumbia (Sporting CP), Nicolò Fagioli (Fiorentina), Davide Frattesi (Lazio), Simone Lontani (Parma), Niccolò Pisilli (Roma), Samuele Ricci (Como), Alessandro Romano (Cagliari), Sandro Tonali (Tottenham).

FORWARDS: Nicolò Cambiaghi (Bologna), Alphadjo Cisse (AC Milan), Francesco Pio Esposito (Inter), Sebastiano Esposito (Sassuolo), Luca Koleosho (Paris FC), Mattia Liberali (Como), Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta), Antonio Vergara (Napoli), Nicolò Zaniolo (Udinese).