‘Top quality’ ex-Prem duo already impressing after Everton and Aston Villa exits

You can see why two players who struggled for minutes at Everton and Aston Villa jumped at the chance to put pen to paper when one particular offer landed in front of them.

If there is one club who have proven themselves adept at rebuilding the reputations of players who had fallen on hard times in the Premier League, it was the team which crushed Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in last season’s Europa League final.

The man who scored all three of those goals while scribing his name into European football folklore – Ademola Lookman – arrived at Atalanta after hit-and-miss spells with Everton, Fulham and Leicester City.

Leading the line throughout much of the campaign, meanwhile, was former West Ham misfit Gianluca Scamacca. Sead Kolasinac and Davide Zappacosta – once of Arsenal and Chelsea – have also been given a new lease of life under Bergamo boss Gian Piero Gasperini.

So when Atalanta came calling for Ben Godfrey and Nicolo Zaniolo, the out-of-favour duo did not take much convincing.

Ben Godfrey of Everton thanks Everton fans at full time after the Premier League match between Everton FC and Sheffield United at Goodison Park on …

Photo by James Baylis – AMA/Getty Images
Ben Godfrey and Nicolo Zaniolo move to Serie A with Atalanta
Former Norwich City captain Godfrey moved to Italy in a £10 million deal in June.

Ex-Aston Villa loanee Zaniolo, meanwhile, informs Tuttomercatoweb that, as soon as he knew of Atalanta’s interest, there was nowhere else he would rather be.

Zaniolo’s career started off on fast forward but has been placed on pause in recent times, not yet the ‘top player’ he could become. A couple of serious knee injuries stalled his progress at Roma while the Italy international struggled to nail down a regular starting berth under Unai Emery at Villa.

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But Maarten de Roon, the former Middlesbrough enforcer who has himself climbed hitherto unimaginable heights at Atalanta, feels that Zaniolo certainly has the raw qualities to enjoy a Lookman or Scamacca-style resurgence under the master manager Gasperini.

“Top quality,” De Roon tells Gazzetta dello Sport of Zaniolo. “The coach often gives the lads who are worth something an extra gear.

“(Zaniolo) has two strong legs, he protects the ball, he’s fast. He can give us more strength and more depth. And he’s different from our other forwards. More solutions, more chances to change the game.”

Excellent start in Italy for former Everton man
Gasperini likes versatile footballers capable of thriving in a variety of roles.

That is likely to have been a key factor in Atalanta’s acquisition of both Zaniolo and Godfrey, the latter having played as a centre-half, a right-back and as a left-back during his time at Everton.

And while some have expressed reservations about Godfrey’s ability to adapt to Gasperini’s free-wheeling tactics, De Roon insists that the 26-year-old Englishman is making a very positive first impression on the training pitch.

“Godfrey? (He has) speed and physical strength,” adds the experienced Dutchman. “I’ve never seen someone go so fast in his first training with Gasperini. Now, he has to grow tactically.

“Italian football is different from that of the Premier League.”

Everton have offset the loss of Godfrey by bringing in Jake O’Brien from Lyon.

A £16 million signing, the 6ft 6ins Republic of Ireland international could slot in neatly next to Jarrad Branthwaite in a physically imposing and highly promising Toffees backline.