Serie A and Serie B loanee reports

Serie A

Gilberto (Hellas Verona): The 23 year old Brazilian wingback remained benched for last week's 1-2 loss against Carpi. After his disastrous showing against Sampdoria, it looks like he has a way to go to regain Gigi Delneri's trust. Seeing him regain his former role as an energy sub would be a good start.

Ante Rebić (Hellas Verona): The 22 year old Croatian attacker played nearly the whole match against Carpi, but got sent off for a typically reckless challenge in the 90th minute (3:30 in the video). This is really becoming a pattern for him, and he needs to fix it and fast.

Serie B

Maxwell Acosty (Latina): The 24 year old Ghanaian attacker has started Latina's past 2 matches, but has gotten the hook in both of them. After starting the season at a scorching pace, he's slowed down under new manager Carmine Gautieri. Still, it's been a generally successful campaign thus far for him.

Jaime Báez (Livorno): The 20 year old Uruguayan forward has been subbed into the past two matches, which were both losses for the Amaranti. New manager Franco Colomba clearly doesn't trust him as much as the old regime, instead opting for more veteran players in his starting XI. Young Jaime now needs to fight his way back into the lineup and get back to doing what he do.

Ricardo Bagadur (Salernitana): The 20 year old centerback has dropped out of the squad for the past two weeks due to muscular problems. Hopefully he'll recover soon and get back on the field soon for the the Granata, who clearly need him after conceding 4 goals to Bari at home.

Filippo Bandinelli (Latina): The 21 year old winger (whose birthday was on Tuesday, so auguri) has spent the past 2 matches as an unused substitute. This is actually a tremendous improvement for him, as he'd been out of the squad since October.

Joshua Brillante (Como): The 23 year old Australian midfielder celebrated his 23rd birthday (which was this past Friday) by sitting on the bench the day after. He's continued to make regular substitute appearances, so maybe it's all starting to click for him.

Leonardo Capezzi (Crotone): The just-turned-21 (on Monday) midfielder played the final half hour of Saturday's scoreless draw at Avellino. Since it was his first match back from a red card suspension, it seems that manager Ivan Jurić was probably trying to send a message to his young star about keeping his head, but with Catania now passing up the Squali for first place, his teaching moment is probably over.

Nicolò Fazzi (Crotone): The 21 year old attacker remains banished from the matchday squad. It seems like years ago that we thought he was almost ready for minutes with Fiorentina in the Europa League; he's clearly got another year or two before he can contribute.

Cedric Gondo (Ternana): The 19 year old Ivorian attacker was benched for 1-0 winover Pescara. His minutes have been trending downward over the past few weeks, but he's still had a reasonably successful season, getting a lot of first team football, which is pretty encouraging.

Gianluca Mancini (Perugia): The 19 year old centerback played the final 13 minutes of Saturday's 0-1 win at Virtus Lanciano. He's found his feet as a part-time starter, and the fact that manager Pierpaolo Bisoli trusts him enough to use him to close out a nervy away win speaks well of the youngster. He's really turned it around after a tough start to the season.

Amidu Salifu (Brescia): The 23 year old Ghanaian midfielder made another appearance off the bench; it's less an indictment of his ability than it is a sign of how careful he needs to be while working his way back from a serious knee injury. It's a lost season at this point, so it'd be nice to see him continue to get some minutes and then make a clean start next year.

Andrés Schetino (Livorno): The 21 year old Uruguayan midfielder hasn't made his debut yet, but it's probably just a matter of time. Specifically, it's a matter of a kid who was playing for a mid-table team in Uruguay adjusting to a new country, a new language, a new continent, and a new team. The second half of this season is pretty much just for him to dip his toe in. Next year, we'll see if he can swim.

Lorenzo Venuti (Brescia): The 20 year old rightback played all 90 minutes in Saturday's scoreless draw with Novara. It's good to see that he's back to being an automatic starter for the Leonessa, especially since I can think of a certain purple-wearing Serie A team that could badly use a rightback. He may not be ready for a move up next year, but he already looks steady as a ten-year veteran.

Luca Zanon (Virtus Entella): The 19 year old fullback hasn't gotten into a game since October. As a U20 international, albeit a fringe member of the setup, he's certainly got the pedigree to get minutes somewhere next year. Just seems like a bad fit for him with the Diavoli Neri.