Stefano Sensi has proved he is ready to compete on the international stage. Even though he was against relatively weak opposition in Liechtenstein, the Sassuolo midfielder has convinced in both last night’s game and his debut at the end of November against the United States. He is a favorite of Roberto Mancini, after the coach fell in love with Sensi during his time at Cesena when he went to follow him in person as Inter coach with Ausilio at his side. Today he gave him the keys to the Azzurri midfield, and he got an excellent performance from the young midfielder, and even the first goal with a header. But it is the all-round improvement of Sensi, and his exponential growth was confirmed in an important game from a transfer market perspective.

Milan's scouts have been keeping a close eye on Stefano for months: Leonardo seriously thought of bringing him in last January but the operation was nipped in the bud by Sassuolo who did not want to sell their best players mid-season, but in June the door will be open for at least €20-25m a transfer fee set by President Squinzi. But Milan have been warned: it will have to make a choice, whether to follow up their interest in Sensi in a concrete way, because competition for his signature is coming. Inter are among the teams that are monitoring the situation, while the CEO of Sassuolo Carnevali has confirmed that Barcelona are monitoring the progress of Stefano. There may be twists and turns, Milan are not safe and the race is still wide open.