Klinsmann: "Pio Esposito is reminiscent of Haaland. It will be tough for Thuram now"

Jürgen Klinsmann, the former Inter striker and a world champion with West Germany in 1990, spoke enthusiastically to the Gazzetta dello Sport about Pio Esposito after the Inter centre-forward marked his debut against Monza with a backheel goal: "I don’t remember ever scoring with a backheel, what Pio did was very beautiful. But beyond the goal, he has enormous potential".

Klinsmann added: "He still has a lot of room for growth. You develop through minutes, through being on the pitch, even by carving out whatever space you can. I’m absolutely delighted that he is getting space at the moment. Speaking as a striker, you grow by putting the ball in the net; you mature with time and with numbers. Young players have to play, they also have to be given the chance to make mistakes, because you become great by making mistakes too. It is also a matter of culture, of philosophy, and in Italy in this respect you are a little behind. Unfortunately, you generally give too little time to young players. Thank goodness Pio is an exception, people can see that when you put him on the pitch he does well. Haaland was already a starter at 17-18. Esposito reminds me a bit of him".