The English Connection
- Dag Jenkins
- Jul 16, 2025
- 13 min read
England is famous for many things. In jumbled order; the Empire and the colonies, the Royal family and Buckingham Palace, its pub culture, quaint country villages, pop music, Charles Dickens, Shakespeare and its poets, the English language, its Universities, double decker buses, Wimbledon tennis, rugby and cricket, red phone boxes, fish and chips, tea drinking, Stonehenge, Cornwall, Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and one could on. It has a strong sporting tradition and is also where modern football, more or less as we know it today, started.
England are the joint oldest national team in football with Scotland having played each other in 1872. At club level the oldest ten teams are: Notts County (1862), Stoke City (1863), Nottingham Forest (1865), Sheffield Wednesday (1867), Chesterfield (1867), Reading (1871), Aston Villa (1874), Bolton Wanderers (1874), Birmingham City (1875) and Blackburn Rovers (1875).
England are ranked 4th in the world and they have taken part in 16 World Cups, winning it in 1966 and reaching two semi-finals in 1990 and 2018. The Three Lions have played in 11 European Championships and were runners up in Euro 2020 (held in 2021) and 2024. England won the now defunct home nations tournament 54 times (20 shared). Their home ground is Wembley, London.
England qualified for the 2026 World Cup. The Three Lions got through the group stage (Croatia 4-2, Panama 2-0, Ghana 0-0) then DR Congo 2-1, Mexico 3-2, Norway 2-1 but lost 1-2 to old rivals Argentina in the semifinal. The 60 years of hurt continue.
The English have always done well at club level. English clubs have won;
The European Cup/Champions League 15 times (Liverpool 6, Manchester United 3, Chelsea 2, Nottingham Forest 2, Manchester City 1, Aston Villa 1)
The UEFA/Europa League 10 times (Liverpool 3, Tottenham 2, Chelsea 2, Manchester United 1, Ipswich Town 1, Aston Villa 1)
The old Cup Winners Cup 7 times (Chelsea 2, Arsenal 1, Tottenham 1, West-Ham 1, Manchester United 1, Everton 1)
The Conference League 3 times (West-Ham United, Chelsea, Crystal Palace)
The European Super Cup 9 times (Liverpool 4, Chelsea 2, Manchester United 1, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest 1, Manchester City 1).
The first ever World Cup for Clubs in July 2025 (Chelsea)
The English teams have had some great players these include: Billy Wright, Stanley Matthews, Tom Finney, Nat Lofthouse, Jimmy Greaves, Gordon Banks, Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan, Gary Lineker, Paul Gascoigne, Alan Shearer, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney to present day Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham.
Many have played in Italy. In fact several Italian clubs were set up by the English including A.C Milan, Genoa and Palermo.
We will look at the English players who have played in Italy and Lazio from post -World War II onwards.
1940's
Charles Adcock - forward - (1946-51), he was the first Englishman to play in post -war Italy. He played 84 games for Padova (2 in B, 1 in A), 17 for Triestina (in A) and 9 for Treviso (in B) with 38 total goals (11 in A and 28 in B).
William Jordan - midfielder/forward-(1948-49), he spent a season with Juventus with 20 league games and 5 goals. He had problems settling in and left for Birmingham City.
1950's
Anthony Marchi - midfielder - (1957-59), he came from eight years with Tottenham and spent one season with Vicenza and one with Torino. He played 59 league games with 11 goals. He then returned to Tottenham. He won 2 league titles, 2 FA Cups and 1 Cup Winners Cup with Spurs.
In this period Lazio also had two English managers, George Raynor and Jesse Carver.
Raynor was Lazio manager from game 8 in 1954-55 with a 12th place finish. He had previously been technical director of Juventus in 1954. He had also led Sweden to Olympic gold in 1948 and to the World Cup final in 1958.
Carver was Lazio manager from game 15 in 1955-56 with a 3rd place and in 1956-57 with a 3rd place finish and then technical director from mid-January to June 1961 when Lazio were relegated. He had previously coached Juventus (1949-51, winning a Scudetto), been technical director at Torino (1953), coached Roma (1953-55), Inter (1957-58) and Genoa (1959-60).
1960's
Gerry Hitchens - forward - (1961- 69), he arrived from Aston Villa to Inter where he stayed two years, then Torino three years, Atalanta two and Cagliari two. He played 216 league games and scored 59 goals. He then left for Worcester City. He won 7 caps for England with 5 goals. He is considered one of the more successful English players to have played in Italy.
Jimmy Greaves - forward - (1961), he arrived at Milan following four prolific years at Chelsea. With the Rossoneri he only stayed five months as he did not get on with manager Nereo Rocco, he however scored 9 goals in 13 games. He went back to London and became a Tottenham legend (268 goals). He earned 57 England caps with 44 goals and won the 1966 World Cup.
Joe Baker - forward - (1961-62), he spent a season with Torino. He played 19 league games and scored 7 goals. He left for Arsenal. He won 8 caps for England with 3 goals.
1970's
No foreigners were allowed in Serie A due to Italy's 1966 World Cup fiasco. The only slight English connection was at Lazio as Giuseppe Wilson was born in Darlington to an English father.
1980's
Trevor Francis - forward - (1982-87), he arrived at Sampdoria from Manchester City. He had previously won 2 European Cups with Nottingham Forest. With Samp he stayed four seasons, playing 67 league games with 17 goals and winning a Coppa Italia. He then spent a year with Atalanta with 21 league games and 1 goal. He then joined Rangers. He won 52 caps for England with 12 goals.
Luther Blissett - forward -(1983-84), he joined Milan from Watford but only stayed one year. He played 30 league games with 5 goals. He then returned to Watford. He won 14 England caps with 3 goals (all on his debut).
Mark Hateley - forward - (1984-87), joined Milan from Portsmouth. He spent three seasons with the Rossoneri, playing 66 league games with 17 goals (including derby winner). He was often injured and in 1987 left for Monaco. He earned 32 caps for England with 9 goals.
Ray Wilkins - midfielder - (1984-87), had good spells at Chelsea and Manchester United before joining Milan. He stayed three seasons, playing 73 league games with 2 goals before leaving for P.S.G. He was popular in Milan and remembered fondly. He won 84 caps for England with 3 goals.
Paul Rideout - forward - (1985-88), he joined Bari from Aston Villa. He played one year in Serie A and two in B, playing 99 league games with 23 goals. He then left for Southampton.
Gordan Cowans - midfielder - (1985-88), he arrived at Bari with Rideout from Aston Villa and he too stayed three seasons. He played 94 league games with 3 goals. He then returned to Villa. He played 10 times for England with 2 goals.
Paul Elliott - defender - (1987-89), he arrived from Aston Villa to Pisa. He stayed two seasons in A but was often injured, playing 21 league games with 1 goal. He then joined Celtic.
1990's
David Platt - midfielder - (1991-95), he joined Bari from Aston Villa and stayed one season, playing 29 league games with 11 goals. He then joined Juventus for a season, playing 16 league games with 3 goals and winning a UEFA Cup. Finally he joined Sampdoria for two seasons playing 55 league games and 17 goals and winning a Coppa Italia. He then joined Arsenal. He won 62 caps for England with 27 goals.
England - midfielder - (1992-95), he joined Lazio in 1992 from Tottenham. He was recovering from a serious injury and suffered another during his three years in Rome. He played a total of 47 games for the Biancocelesti with 7 goals (including equaliser in the dying minutes of the derby). He was adored at Lazio and one of the most popular players in their history. He left for Rangers. He won 57 caps for England with 10 goals.
Des Walker - defender - (1992-93), he joined Sampdoria after eight years with Nottingham Forest. In Genoa he stayed one year, playing 30 league games. He then left for Sheffield Wednesday. He earned 59 caps for England.
Paul Ince - midfielder - (1995-97), he joined Inter after six seasons with Manchester United (two league titles, two FA Cups and a Cup Winners Cup). At Inter he stayed two seasons, playing 73 games with 13 goals. He then went to Liverpool. He won 53 caps for England with 2 goals.
Franz Carr - forward - (1996-97), he joined Reggiana in Serie A from Aston Villa but only played 6 league games over one season. He then joined Bolton on loan.
Lee Sharpe - midfielder - (1999), after spending eight seasons at Manchester United he joined Sampdoria on loan from Leeds United in early 1999. He only played 3 league games in five months before joining Bradford City. He won 8 caps for England.
Danny Dichio - forward- (1997), he joined Sampdoria from QPR but never made his league debut and in January joined Lecce on loan where he played 4 league games with 1 goal and the Giallorossi were relegated. He then joined Sunderland.
In this period manager Roy Hodgson worked in Italy. From November 1995 to May 1997 he was manager of Inter with 7th and 3rd places and a UEFA Cup final (lost to Schalke 04 on penalties). He was back at Inter from May to June 1999 for the last 4 matches and an 8th place. His last Italian experience was with Udinese from July to December 2001 when he was replaced by Gian Piero Ventura.
2000's
Jan Bothroyd - forward - (2003-2004), he joined Perugia from Coventry City. He stayed in Umbria one season, playing 28 league games with 5 goals. The Grifoni won the Intertoto Cup but were relegated from Serie A. Bothroyd then left and joined Stoke City on loan and then Cardiff City. He won 1 cap for England.
David Beckham - midfielder - (2009, 2010), after great success with Manchester United and Real Madrid he joined Milan on two separate loan spells from LA Galaxy from January to June in two separate seasons. He played 33 games for the Rossoneri with 2 goals. He then returned to LA Galaxy and then P.S.G. The "Spice Boy" or "Becks" won 115 caps for England with 17 goals. He was a relative success in Italy, especially commercially.
2010-20
Micah Richards - defender - (2014-15), he joined Fiorentina on loan after nine seasons with Manchester City (2 league titles and 1 FA Cup). He stayed one season, playing 10 league games before joining Aston Villa. He won 13 caps for England with 1 goal.
Ashley Cole - defender - (2014-16), he joined Roma from Chelsea after eight years with the Blues and previously six with Arsenal. He stayed a season and a half with the Giallorossi but only played 16 games. He was a huge disappointment (for some..). He then left for LA Galaxy in January 2016. He won 107 caps for England.
Nathaniel Chalobah - England - defender - (2015-16), he joined Napoli on loan from Reading but was owned by Chelsea. He played 9 games for Napoli with 1 goal. He then returned to Chelsea. He has won 1 cap for England.
England - midfielder - (2015-17, 2018-19), he signed for Lazio from West Ham United (via Cardiff City). He had two spells in the Italian capital but never imposed himself. He impressed in preseason but then only played 8 games over a season and a half before leaving for QPR on loan in January 2017. He returned to Lazio in the summer of 2018 after a stint in Mexico but never played and in January 2019 joined Österlund in Sweden. A talent who never fulfilled expectations. After playing for England U16s, U17s, U18s and U21s, in 2020 he also got Jamaican citizenship and has played 20 times for the "Reggae Boyz".
Joe Hart - goalkeeper - (2016-17), he joined Torino on loan after 8 years with Manchester City (with a brief interlude with Birmingham City). He stayed in Turin one season, playing 37 games. He then joined West-Ham United, Burnley and Celtic. He won 75 caps for England.
Stephy Mavididi - forward - (2018 -19), he joined Juventus from Charlton and played one league game for the Bianconeri first team and 32 games for Juventus U23, who play in the 3rd tier, with 6 goals. He left for Dijon on loan, then Montpellier and is currently with Leicester City.
Ronaldo Vieira - midfielder - (2018- 2025), he joined Sampdoria from Leeds United. He stayed two seasons, playing 44 games. In 2020-21 he spent a year with Verona, playing 5 games with 1 goal. In 2021 he returned to Sampdoria with a six month loan period to Torino between January and June 2023, playing 2 league games. With Sampdoria he played a total of 113 games before leaving for S.J. Earthquakes (USA).
Ben Wilmot - defender -(2019), he had a brief three month spell with Udinese on loan from Watford. He played 5 league games and then joined Swansea City on loan. He is now at Stoke City.
Chris Smalling - defender - (2019-2024), he joined Roma after nine seasons with Manchester United. He stayed five seasons in Rome, playing 155 games with 10 goals and winning a Conference League. He was a success with the Giallorossi until in his last season he was plagued by injuries. He then joined Al-Fayha in Saudi Arabia. He won 31 caps for England with 1 goal.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles - defender - (2022), he joined Roma on loan from Arsenal in January. He played 19 games over 6 months under José Mourinho and won the Conference League. He left for Southampton on loan and then joined Olympique Lyonnais. He has won 5 caps for England.
2020's
Samuel Iling-Junior- - midfielder - He came from the Chelsea academy in 2020 and joined Juventus. In 2021 he played for Juventus Next Gen in the 3rd tier, playing 9 games with 3 goals. In 2022 he joined the Juventus first squad for two seasons, playing 36 games with 2 goals. He was then sold to Aston Villa. In 2024-25 he started with Bologna on loan (16 games, 2 goals) and in February joined Middlesbrough in the English Championship, then West Bromwich Albion both on loan. He then came back to Italy in 2025-26 joining Pisa in A. He only played 4 league games and the Nerazzurri were relegated.
Luis Binks - defender- (2021-2023), he grew up with Tottenham but arrived in Italy from Montreal Impact. He joined Bologna for a season and played 15 league games. He was Bologna's first English player in their history. He then moved to Como on loan in Serie B and played 34 games. He then left for Coventry City in the Championship.
Axel Tuanzebe - defender - (2022), he spent six months from January to June at Napoli on loan from Manchester United (via Aston Villa). He played 2 games in Naples and then returned to Manchester. He is currently at Burnley. He played for England U19s, U20s and U21s but he also has Republic of Congo citizenship and has won 12 caps with 1 goal for Les Léopards.
Harry Winks - midfielder - (2022-23), after six years at Tottenham he joined Sampdoria on loan. He played 20 league games but the Blucerchiati were relegated. He then joined Leicester City but in 2026 returned to Italy and joined Cagliari. He has won 10 caps for England with 1 goal.
Djed Spence - defender - he joined Genoa in January 2024 on loan from Tottenham (via Rennes and Leeds United). He played 16 league games before returning to Spurs. He has 13 caps for England and played in the 2026 World Cup.
Tammy Abraham - forward - (2021-25), he arrived from Chelsea and played for Roma for three years and then one for A.C Milan on loan. For Roma he played 120 games with 37 goals. In his last season, with Milan, he was out injured for a while but played 44 games in all competitions with 10 goals. He won an Italian Supercoppa with the Rossoneri in 2024. He has 11 caps for England with 3 goals. He then joined Beşiktaş and now is at Aston Villa.
Ben Godfrey - defender - (2024-2025), he arrived at Atalanta from Everton but left in January on loan to Ipswich Town, Sheffield United and currently Brøndby, all on loan. He played 5 games for the Nerazzurri (1 in A, 1 in CI and 3 in Europe). He has 2 caps for England.
Kyle Walker - defender - he arrived on loan at Milan from Manchester City in January 2025. He played 15 games (11 in A). He has 96 caps for England with 1 goal. He left for Burnley.
Delle Alli - midfielder- he arrived at Como from Everton in January 2025. He only played 1 league game. He has 38 caps for England with 3 goals. Once a promising talent his career has faded.
In 2025-26
There were 11 Englishmen playing in Serie A
Fikayo Tomori - defender - (2021-pd), he arrived at Milan from Chelsea. He has played 214 games with 7 goals. He has 6 caps for England. He has won a Scudetto (2022) and a Supercoppa Italiana (2024).
Ruben Loftus Cheek - midfielder - (2023-pd), he arrived from Chelsea and is in his third season with Milan. In the first he played 40 games with 10 goals. In 2024-25 he was limited by injuries and played 26 games in all competitions. In 2025-26 he played a little more, 32 games. He has played 100 games with 13 goals for the Rossoneri. He won a Supercoppa Italiana in 2024. He has 11 caps for England.
Keinan Davis - forward - (2023-pd), he joined Udinese from Watford and has completed his third season. He has played 61 games with 14 goals (13 in A). The 2025-26 season was his best with 10 league goals.
Tino Anjorin - midfielder - (2024-pd), arrived from Chelsea (via Lokomotiv Moscow, Huddersfield Town and Portsmouth) has just completed his first season with Empoli. He played 22 league games with 2 goals but Empoli were relegated. He joined Torino for the 2025-26 season.
Brooke Norton-Cuffy - defender- he arrived at Genoa from Millwall (but owned by Arsenal) in October 2024. He has played 43 games with 2 goals for the Rossoblu.
Daniel Oyegoke - defender- he arrived at Verona from Hearts in Scotland in January 2025. He has played 7 games with the Gialloblu who were relegated in 2025-26.
Lloyd Kelly - defender- he arrived at Juventus in Feb 2025 from Newcastle United and previously played for Bournemouth. He has played 64 games with 2 goals for the Bianconeri with 4th and 6th place finishes.
Jonathan Rowe - winger - he arrived at Bologna in August 2025 from Olympique Marseille. He had a positive season, playing 44 games with 8 goals.
Jack Harrison - winger- he arrived at Fiorentina in Jan 2026 on loan from Leeds United. He played 21 games with 1 goal. La Viola had a difficult season but ultimately avoided relegation.
Samuel Iling-Junior - midfielder
Jamie Vardy - forward, in 2025 he joined newly promoted Cremonese after 13 years with Leicester City (winning a historic Premier League title) He played 29 league games for Cremonese with 7 goals but could not prevent the Grigiorossi from going down. He then left for Sheffield Wednesday. He has 26 caps for England with 7 goals.
In B
Omari Forson - forward - (2024-pd), arrived from Manchester United and has completed his second season with Monza. In his first he played 9 league games but the Brianzoli were relegated. In 2025-26 Monza bounced straight back up again.
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