Lorenzo Lucca
Italian footballer (born 2000)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lorenzo Lucca (Italian pronunciation: [loˈrɛn.t͡so ˈluk.ka]; born 10 September 2000) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Nottingham Forest, on loan from Serie A club Napoli, and the Italy national team.
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Lucca with Pisa in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 10 September 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Moncalieri, Italy | ||
| Height | 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Nottingham Forest (on loan from Napoli) | ||
| Number | 20 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2008 | CBS Scuola Calcio | ||
| 2008–2015 | Torino | ||
| 2015–2017 | Chieri | ||
| 2017–2018 | Vicenza | ||
| 2018–2020 | Torino | ||
| 2018–2019 | → Brescia | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2017 | → Atletico Torino (loan) | 10 | (2) |
| 2017–2018 | Vicenza | 3 | (0) |
| 2018–2020 | Torino | 0 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | Palermo | 30 | (14) |
| 2021–2024 | Pisa | 30 | (6) |
| 2022–2023 | → Ajax (loan) | 14 | (2) |
| 2022–2023 | → Jong Ajax (loan) | 14 | (6) |
| 2023–2024 | → Udinese (loan) | 37 | (8) |
| 2024–2026 | Udinese | 33 | (12) |
| 2025–2026 | → Napoli (loan) | 16 | (1) |
| 2026– | Napoli | 0 | (0) |
| 2026– | → Nottingham Forest (loan) | 4 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2021–2022 | Italy U21 | 6 | (2) |
| 2024– | Italy | 5 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 10 May 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 9 June 2025 | |||
Club career
Early career
Born in Moncalieri, Lucca began playing youth football as a kid for CBS Scuola Calcio, a local team in Turin, and then moved to the Torino youth academy at age eight. He later moved to Chieri, a club in the province of Turin, but was discarded and allowed to join Atletico Torino.[2] With Atletico Torino, he made his senior debut at age 16 in the Italian sixth-tier (Promozione), scoring two goals.[3][4][2]
The following season, Lucca was signed by Vicenza, with whom he made his professional debut in 2018 at the age of 17 during a Serie C league game against Sambenedettese.[5] Lucca was recalled by Torino in 2018 and loaned to Brescia. After scoring 16 goals in 18 games for the Brescia primavera youth side, he was called back at Torino in 2019 and played for the Toro primavera side for the first half of the 2019–20 season.[5]
Palermo
On 31 January 2020, Lucca left Torino to join Palermo in Serie D on a free transfer.[6] He only played three games for the Rosanero as part of the 2019–20 Serie D season which ended in promotion to Serie C for the club, also due to the league halt following the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. In July 2020, Lucca signed his first professional contract, penning a four-year deal with the Rosanero.[7] For the 2020–21 Serie C season, Lucca started as a understudy to Andrea Saraniti, but soon broke into the first team and became the team topscorer by February, breaking the ten-goal threshold after scoring a brace against Turris.[8]
Pisa
On 21 July 2021, Lucca joined Serie B club Pisa,[9] penning a five-year deal with the Neroazzurri. He made his debut for Pisa against SPAL and scored his first two goals for the club in a 2–0 victory against Alessandria. After bagging six goals in the first seven matches of the season, he stopped scoring, marking his season tally at six goals in 34 Serie B matches.
Loan to Ajax
On 5 August 2022, Eredivisie champions Ajax announced to have signed Lucca from Pisa, on a loan deal with an option to buy.[10] He became the first Italian player in Ajax's history.[11] He scored his first goal for the club on 6 November 2022, scoring against PSV Eindhoven in a 2–1 loss in the Eredivisie.[12] After the loan with the Dutch club expired, he returned to Pisa.[13]
Udinese
On 7 July 2023, Lucca joined fellow Italian side Udinese Calcio on a one-year loan.[14][15] After a season as a regular for Udinese, on 13 June 2024, the club announced it had signed the player permanently.[16] On 21 February 2025, he scored his tenth Serie A goal of the 2024–25 season in a 1–0 away win over Lecce. However, he sparked controversy by taking the penalty from the team's captain, Florian Thauvin, without his teammates' consent. Shortly after, he was substituted in the first half by coach Kosta Runjaić.[17]
Loan to Napoli
On 18 July 2025, Lucca officially joined fellow Serie A club Napoli on loan for a fee of €9,000,000 with an obligation to buy for €26,000,000.[18] Later that year, on 22 September, he netted his first goal in a 3–2 win over his former club Pisa.[19]
Loan to Nottingham Forest
On 23 January 2026, Lucca joined Napoli from Udinese on a permanent basis.[20] Immediately after, he signed for Premier League club Nottingham Forest on loan from Napoli for the remainder of the season with an option to buy.[21] On 6 February, he scored his first goal for the club on his debut in a 3–1 loss against Leeds United [22]
International career
On 7 September 2021, Lucca made his debut with the Italy U21 squad, playing as a substitute in the qualifying match and won 1–0 against Montenegro.[citation needed] In March 2024, he was called up to the senior Italy squad for a friendly against Ecuador but had to withdraw through injury.[23] On 14 October 2024, Lucca made his senior debut in a 2024–25 UEFA Nations League match against Israel, which ended in a 4–1 victory for the Italians.[24]
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Atletico Torino (loan) | 2016–17 | Promozione | 10[27][28] | 2 | — | — | — | 10 | 2 | |||
| Vicenza | 2017–18 | Serie C | 3 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Palermo | 2019–20 | Serie D | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21 | Serie C | 27 | 13 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 27 | 13 | ||
| Total | 30 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 14 | ||
| Pisa | 2021–22 | Serie B | 30 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[b] | 0 | 35 | 6 | |
| Ajax (loan) | 2022–23 | Eredivisie | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | — | 16 | 2 | |
| Udinese (loan) | 2023–24 | Serie A | 37 | 8 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 39 | 9 | ||
| Udinese | 2024–25 | Serie A | 33 | 12 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 36 | 14 | ||
| Udinese total | 70 | 20 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 23 | ||
| Napoli (loan) | 2025–26 | Serie A | 16 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 23 | 2 |
| Nottingham Forest (loan) | 2025–26 | Premier League | 4 | 1 | — | 5[c] | 0 | — | 9 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 175 | 45 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 199 | 49 | ||
- Includes Coppa Italia, KNVB Cup
- Appearances in Serie B promotion play-offs
- Appearance in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana
International
- As of match played 9 June 2025[29]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 2024 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 5 | 0 | |
Honours
Napoli
