Verratti set for surprise return to Italy set-up under Gattuso for World Cup playoffs

Marco Verratti is set to make a surprise return to the Italy national team, with new head coach Gennaro Gattuso ready to recall the veteran midfielder for the World Cup playoff fixtures, according to transfer insider Nicolò Schira.

Schira reports that positive direct contact has taken place between the two parties in recent hours, with Verratti confirming his availability and willingness to pull on the Azzurri shirt once more, a development few would have predicted given how long he has been absent from the international scene.

The experienced midfielder has been plying his trade in Qatar with Al-Arabi and Al-Duhail since leaving Paris Saint-Germain, and his omission from Italy squads in recent years had led many to assume his international career was over.

Verratti in for shock Italy call-up?

However, Gattuso, who shares a strong personal relationship with the midfielder, has clearly decided that his technical quality and experience could be invaluable during the high-stakes pressure of playoff football.

It is a bold call, but not an entirely surprising one given Gattuso’s personality.

The Italy boss has never been one to shy away from decisive or unconventional decisions, and with a World Cup place on the line, turning to one of the most technically gifted Italian midfielders of his generation carries obvious logic.

For Verratti, it would represent a remarkable and emotional international comeback, and an opportunity to write one final chapter in an Azzurri career that, until very recently, appeared to have already reached its conclusion.