Gabriele Zappa

Key strength: Pace and recovery

Overlapping full-back

At Cagliari Calcio, currently sitting 12th in the table and searching for consistency, Gabriele Zappa finds himself in the margins of the first team picture. The 26-year-old Italian right-back has managed just a solitary appearance this season—a 90-minute shift yielding one assist but marred by two yellow cards that highlight his combative, all-action approach. His €4M valuation reflects a player with genuine pace and recovery speed, qualities essential for the overlapping full-back role he occupies. Yet competition is fierce, with teammate Marco Palestra—a similarly-rated operator—providing stiff competition for the starting berth. Zappa's overlapping instincts and defensive tenacity are undoubted, but translating limited opportunities into consistent minutes remains his challenge. In a Cagliari squad featuring emerging talents like Semih Kılıçsoy and Sebastiano Esposito, Zappa represents a squad-depth option with untapped potential. With the season still young, his next opportunity to prove himself could be just around the corner.