Andrea Cambiaso: Why Manchester City and Liverpool are being linked with the versatile Juventus and Italy full-back

Cambiaso's parents, Ugo and Ilaria, impressed upon him - and his brother Alberto - the importance of an education, and he attended a computer science high school as a teenager. Andrea, though, was obsessed with becoming a professional footballer, and his father even allowed him to take a year off after graduating to focus solely on realising his dream.

"My parents always made me understand the value of studying but, at the same time, they left me free to follow my passion for the game," he told the Gazzetta dello Sport.

Of course, it helped that Cambiaso was as talented as he was determined, and he was picked up by Genoa at 15. The path to the first team would prove long and winding, though, taking in several unexpected stops along the way.

Cambiaso had four different loan spells during his time on Genoa's books. The first two, at Albissola and Savona, went well, but the third, at Alessandria, was cruelly cut short in December 2019 by an ACL injury that threatened Cambiaso's career. However, what could have been a fatal blow actually proved a turning point.

"I've always thought that if I hadn't hurt my knee, I probably wouldn't be here today," Cambiaso told Vivo Azzurro TV. "It was a big setback, I was in the most important part of my career, I was doing really well at Alessandria and there was talk of interest from some Serie B clubs during the January transfer window. I had to deal with not only my recovery from an ACL injury, but also Covid. However, I did well. I kept my head and returned even stronger than before."

Indeed, less than a year after making his return to action during another loan spell, this time at Empoli, Cambiaso was scoring his first-ever goal for Genoa, in a Serie A clash with Napoli on August 29, 2021. "I was 21 years old and my whole family was in the stands," Cambiaso recalled in his interview with La Gazzetta. "While my team-mates hugged me, I thought I had made it: my childhood dream had come true."

Cambiaso didn't add to his Genoa goal tally during the remainder of the 2021-22 campaign, but he did catch the eye of Serie A's top teams with his dynamic displays, and Juve snapped him up at the end of the season for €13 million (£11m/$15m).

However, he was immediately sent out on yet another loan - and it proved an inspired call, as Cambiaso not only got regular game time at Bologna, he also benefited enormously from working under then-Rossoblu coach Thiago Motta, who cherished versatile players and encouraged them to move freely about the pitch. "From a tactical point of view, he made me discover things that I had never seen," the defender told the Corriere dello Sport.

Cambiaso also relished in playing in what is widely regarded as the perfect playing environment for a young, up-and-coming player. "It's a wonderful city and a great club," he told the Gazzetta. "It was so important to me. I think that if I hadn't gone there, I would have arrived at Juve much less prepared."

Cambiaso certainly returned to Turin an improved player, locking down a starting spot under Massimiliano Allegri during the 2023-24 season, which led to him being included in the Italy squad for Euro 2024. He was criminally underused by Luciano Spalletti in Germany, but he's since become one of the first names on the coach's team-sheet, starting five of the Azzurri's last six Nations League outings, scoring twice in the process.

He's also chipped in with a couple of goals for Juve this season, but he freely admits that he's not been quite at his brilliant best because of a niggling ankle injury.

"It has been quite a tough period for me since December," he told Sky Sport Italia in March. "I am still not at 100 percent now, to be honest, but I'm trying to get back into shape. I was a bit unlucky, because I had this injury that wasn’t serious, but did drag on a bit and affect my mobility. Then, there was the transfer stuff too. But I am learning to keep more of a balance and play well even when I am not at 100%."

Cambiaso is a tremendously intelligent and technically gifted footballer, which means he can pretty much fulfill any wide role. Indeed, even he's not sure of his best position, given he's just as home in either full-back berth or playing further forward.

"Maybe I have uncommon skills for a wide player, as I like moving inside," he told the Gazzetta. "And I don't know if I'm better on the right or left. I've talked about it with my coaches without coming to any conclusion. I'm good, it seems, on both sides."

Consequently, it won't come as much of a surprise to learn that the former Juventus and Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo is one of his role models. Cambiaso arguably hasn't quite reached the Portugal international's level of comfort on either flank just yet, but he certainly has it in him. Indeed, he's renowned as a very humble and studious character who is always looking to improve his game.

This is a very grounded individual who doesn't have much time for social media or video games, preferring instead to read books, watch films and listen to music, while he's also considering enrolling in university. "It would make my parents happy," he said, "and fill my time with meaning."

When Cambiaso returned to Juve in 2023, he said that he felt he still had a lot to work on from a defensive perspective and he's certainly done that, even if he's been the first to admit that he's still prone to the occasional lapse in concentration from a positional perspective. Whether deployed as a wing-back on the right- or left-hand side, he rarely neglects his defensive duties.

In fact, it's Cambiaso's offensive output which is now coming under a little more scrutiny, as the feeling is that he should be contributing more going forward. He's unquestionably one of Juve's best outlets, far more effective than many of the orthodox wingers on the Bianconeri’s books, but that's not really saying much. Indeed, Cambiaso only ranks 15th among Serie A defenders for chances created so far this season, with 29, which is well below the likes of Juan Miranda (48), Theo Hernandez and Federico Dimarco (both 43).

He's also only contributed just one assist in 28 league outings. Again, that unimpressive number can be partially attributed to the fact that Juve do not score more many goals, but it makes for a stark contrast with Dimarco, who has seven to his name and is considered the standard-setter when it comes to wing-backs who strike the perfect balance between defence and attack.

Cambiaso's mooted move to Manchester City was considered pretty much a done deal in the middle of January, with Juve fans resigned to losing one of their favourite players. The deal certainly made sense, as Pep Guardiola needed a replacement for AC Milan-bound Kyle Walker.

However, according to widespread reports, City ultimately decided to prioritise signing a striker (Omar Marmoush), a midfielder (Nico Gonzalez) and two centre-backs (Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis) - resulting in a near-£200m ($260m) outlay that meant they didn't have enough money left to also bring in Cambiaso.

It has been claimed, though, that the proposed transfer to the Etihad will now be completed this summer, and for a fee in the region of €70m (£60m/$80m). However, Liverpool are also now being linked with Cambiaso, given Trent Alexander-Arnold is seemingly on his way to Real Madrid, while Bayern Munich's name has also been mentioned.

So, while Cambiaso's future remains up in the air, it's clear that his remarkable and peripatetic journey to the pinnacle of his profession is set to take in another exciting stop this summer.