Luca D'Andrea

Luca D'Andrea (born 6 September 2004) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a right winger for Serie B club Catanzaro, on loan from Sassuolo.

Club career
Born in Naples, D'Andrea started playing football at the grassroots schools Ponticelli, Mariano Keller and Azzurri, before entering SPAL's youth sector in 2018,  where he reached the semi-finals of the national under-17 championship in 2021. Then, in January 2022, he joined Sassuolo, signing his first professional deal in the process.

In the summer of the same year, he was officially promoted to the first team by manager Alessio Dionisi: he subsequently made his professional debut on 17 September, starting the Serie A match against Torino, which ended in a 0–1 win for his side. In January 2023, he extended his contract with Sassuolo until 2027.

On 1 August of the same year, D'Andrea joined newly-promoted Serie B club Catanzaro on a season-long loan. On 27 August, having come on as a substitute in the second half of a league match against Ternana, he gained a penalty kick for his side in the 89th minute, which was scored by Jari Vandeputte and helped Catanzaro obtain a 2–1 win.

International career
D'Andrea has represented Italy at several youth international levels, having featured for the under-18 and under-19 national teams.

He was included in the under-18 squad that took part in the 2022 Mediterranean Games in Oran, as the Azzurrini eventually won the silver medal after losing to France (1–0) in the tournament's final match.

In June 2023, he was included in the Italian squad for the UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Malta, where the Azzurrini eventually won their second continental title.

Style of play
D'Andrea is a left-footed forward, who can play either as an attacking midfielder or an inverted winger on the right side. A diminutive player, he has been mainly regarded for key skills such as technique, ball control, speed, dribbling and shooting, as well as his work rate.  

Honours
Italy U19
 * UEFA European Under-19 Championship: 2023