Nicolo Tresoldi left San Siro on 13 October as the youngest German hat-trick scorer in Champions League history.
He had arrived with six goals in eight games for Club Brugge and the kind of profile scouts write in pencil. He walked off with three against Inter Milan in a 4-3 Club Brugge win, having matched a Champions League feat only Gareth Bale had previously managed against the Italian club at San Siro, as reported by football-italia. At 22 years and 54 days, he passed Karim Adeyemi’s mark for the youngest German hat-trick scorer in the competition, according to Yahoo Sports.
He had grown up supporting AC Milan.
“As an AC Milan fan, it was a little derby for me. It was a crazy and indescribable night. I dreamed of an evening like this,” Tresoldi told Yahoo Sports.
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The €50m call
Barcelona had him within reach a few weeks earlier. Sky Sport Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg has reported that the Catalan club showed concrete interest in the closing days of the summer window before pulling back when Club Brugge valued the striker at €50m. The thinking inside Barcelona was that a premium for Tresoldi would complicate a longer-standing idea of chasing Julián Alvarez in a later window.
He has since scored 12 goals in 14 club appearances this season, with three hat-tricks in four weeks, plus four for Germany’s Under-21 side.
Renewed interest, higher price
Spanish daily Sport reported on 3 October that Tresoldi is back on Barcelona’s shortlist at centre-forward, as covered by Goal. The price for a January approach would start above the summer figure.
Barcelona’s own attack has sharpened the question. Raphinha has carried much of the centre-forward workload with Robert Lewandowski in and out of the line-up, and summer signing Gabriel Jesus has yet to tilt matches. Hansi Flick remains in charge, but Barcelona closed the weekend with a 2-1 home defeat to Real Madrid in El Clasico on Sunday, with Kylian Mbappé scoring twice, according to ESPN. The result followed a Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain, and Flick has told his squad to rest before returning to tactical work.
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A January move would run into company. Chelsea and Manchester City have scouted Tresoldi, with reporting putting his valuation at around £42m, according to Football FanCast. Newcastle and Arsenal have been named too. His contract at Brugge runs through 2029, per The Daily Star.
The international question
Tresoldi was born in Cagliari and moved to Germany as a child. He has captained Germany’s Under-21 side and is eligible for Italy through his father.
“I spoke to Klopp, Mancini, the federations of both countries,” he told football-italia.
He plans to continue through Germany’s Under-21 European Championship in summer 2027 before choosing a senior allegiance.
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