Nicola Zalewski

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Nicola Zalewski
FC Salzburg gegen AS Roma (UEFA Euroleague play-off, 2023-02-16) 14 (cropped).jpg
Zalewski with Roma in 2023
Personal information
Full name Nicola Zalewski [1]
Date of birth (2002-01-23) 23 January 2002 (age 23) [1]
Place of birth Tivoli, Italy
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) [1]
Position(s) Full-back, wing-back
Team information
Current team
 Atalanta
Number 59
Youth career
2011–2021 Roma
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2021–2025 Roma 84 (2)
2025 → Inter Milan (loan) 11 (1)
2025 Inter Milan 0 (0)
2025– Atalanta 3 (1)
International career‡
2017–2018 Poland U16 5 (0)
2018–2019 Poland U17 9 (2)
2019 Poland U19 7 (0)
2019 Poland U20 1 (0)
2021–2023 Poland U21 6 (1)
2021– Poland 31 (3)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:16, 14 September 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 21:32, 7 September 2025 (UTC)

Nicola Zalewski (born 23 January 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a full-back, wing-back or wide midfielder for Serie A club Atalanta. Born in Italy, he plays for the Poland national team at international level. [2]

Contents

Club career

Roma

Zalewski (left) playing for Roma against Red Bull Salzburg in 2023 during a UEFA Europa League match. FC Salzburg gegen AS Roma (UEFA Euroleague play-off, 2023-02-16) 56.jpg
Zalewski (left) playing for Roma against Red Bull Salzburg in 2023 during a UEFA Europa League match.

Zalewski made his professional debut for Roma on 6 May 2021 in the Europa League semi-final against Manchester United, replacing Pedro at the 76th minute and being instrumental to the winning goal, an own goal by Alex Telles, seven minutes later. [3] [4] He made his Serie A debut three days later, on 9 May, during a home game against Crotone. [5] On 29 December, Roma announced his contract had been extended until 2025. [6]

On 28 February 2022, he first played as a starter for Roma in their 1–0 win against Spezia. [7] On 12 March 2023, he scored the first goal in his senior career in a 3–4 loss against Sassuolo Calcio. [8] [9] On 3 June 2023, he scored a goal in a 2–1 victory over Spezia. [10] On 12 December 2024, he played the full 90 minutes and registered an assist in a Europa League group stage match against Braga, which concluded in Roma's 3–0 victory. [11]

Inter Milan

On 1 February 2025, Zalewski joined fellow Serie A team Inter Milan on loan, with an option to make the deal permanent at the end of the season. The initial loan was reported to be a fee of €600,000, with the buy option at €6.5m. [12] The following day, Zalewski made his debut for the club in the Milan derby, coming on as a substitute for Federico Dimarco in the 76th minute. He later assisted Stefan de Vrij’s equaliser in stoppage time. [13] Zalewski scored his first goal for Inter in an away match against Torino on 11 May 2025 which Inter won 2–0. Zalewski's goal was the opening goal of that match.

On 23 June 2025, Inter officially exercised their option to buy, making the transfer permanent. [14]

Atalanta

On 18 August 2025, Zalewski signed a four-year contract with Serie A club Atalanta, joining the team for a reported transfer fee of €17 million. [15] [16]

International career

Zalewski was born in Italy but he is not an Italian citizen due to the country's jus sanguinis nationality law. [17] He was first selected by the youth selections of the Poland national team after being discovered by Zbigniew Boniek, head of the Polish Football Association and former Roma player. [18] He made his debut for the senior team on 5 September 2021, in the World Cup Qualifier against San Marino where he came on in 66th minute and assisted Adam Buksa in the 94th minute who made it 7–1 for Poland. [19]

On 7 June 2024, Zalewski was called up for UEFA Euro 2024. [20] Three days later, he scored his first goal for Poland in a friendly against Turkey, dribbling down from the wing past two defenders and hitting a strike inside the box in the 90th minute to set the final score to 2–1. [21]

On 5 September 2024, Zalewski scored a last-gasp penalty against Scotland in the group stage of the UEFA Nations League to win the game 3–2 in Poland's favour. The following month, he also scored in a 3–3 draw against Croatia in the same competition. [22]

Personal life

Zalewski was born in Tivoli to Polish parents and grew up in Poli. [18] He has a sister, Jessica, born in 1992. [23] His father, Krzysztof Zalewski, died of cancer on 24 September 2021. [24]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 14 September 2025 [25]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeague Coppa Italia Europe OtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Roma 2020–21 Serie A 10001 [a] 0—20
2021–22 Serie A160107 [b] 0—240
2022–23 Serie A3322012 [a] 0—472
2023–24 Serie A220209 [a] 0—330
2024–25 Serie A120104 [a] 0—170
Total84260330—1232
Inter Milan (loan) 2024–25 Serie A111202 [c] 02 [d] 0171
Atalanta 2025–26 Serie A310000—31
Career total98480350201434

International

As of match played 7 September 2025 [26]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Poland 202110
202280
202350
2024133
202540
Total313

Scores and results list Poland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zalewski goal. [26]

List of international goals scored by Nicola Zalewski
No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
110 June 2024 Kazimierz Górski National Stadium, Warsaw, Poland18Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 2–12–1 Friendly
25 September 2024 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland22Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland 3–23–2 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A
315 October 2024Kazimierz Górski National Stadium, Warsaw, Poland25Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 2–33–32024–25 UEFA Nations League A

Honours

Roma

Inter Milan

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ – Squad List: Poland (POL)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 21. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. ↑ Nicola Zalewski at Soccerway
  3. ↑ "Cronaca Roma - Manchester Utd". Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 6 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  4. ↑ "Roma 3-2 Manchester United (agg: 5-8): Red Devils ease into final". UEFA.com. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  5. ↑ "Roma-Crotone, problemi fisici per Darboe: Bove esordisce in prima squadra". Il Romanista (in Italian). 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  6. ↑ "Bove, Darboe e Zalewski rinnovano il proprio contratto con la Roma". www.asroma.com (in Italian). Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  7. ↑ "Serie A, Spezia-Roma 0-1: giallorossi passano su rigore al 99'". Sportmediaset.it (in Italian). Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  8. ↑ Andy Mattioli (14 March 2023). "Nicola Zalewski celebrates scoring first goal with Roma". romapress.net. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  9. ↑ Piotr Mika (12 March 2023). "Nicola Zalewski nareszcie to zrobił! Pierwszy gol w barwach Romy, upragnione przełamanie [WIDEO]". sport.se.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  10. ↑ Bartosz Wieczorek (4 June 2023). "Nicola Zalewski z drugim golem w Serie A. Reprezentant Polski zdobył bramkę w meczu ze Spezią". sport.tvn.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  11. ↑ "AS Roma 3-0 Braga (Dec 12, 2024)". espn.con. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  12. ↑ "Nicola Zalewski joins Inter" (Press release). Inter Milan. 1 February 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  13. ↑ "Inter leave it late in 1-1 derby draw with Milan". ESPN. 2 February 2025.
  14. ↑ "Nicola Zalewski joins Inter on a permanent basis" (Press release). Inter Milan. 23 June 2025. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  15. ↑ "Nicola Zalewski is a new Atalanta player!" (Press release). Atalanta BC. 18 August 2025. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  16. ↑ "Zalewski ufficiale all'Atalanta, 17 milioni all'Inter" (in Italian). Sky Sport. 18 August 2025. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  17. ↑ "Zalewski O Mourinho, Michniewiczu I Mundialu. "Włosi Chcieli Mnie W Swojej Kadrze"". YouTube .
  18. 1 2 "Roma, chi è Nicola Zalewski: polacco di Tivoli tifoso giallorosso" (in Italian). GianlucaDiMarzio.com. 5 October 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  19. ↑ "San Marino-Poland".
  20. ↑ "Michał Probierz ogłosił kadrę na Euro 2024" (in Polish). Polish Football Association. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  21. ↑ "Polska – Turcja 2:1. Nicola Zalewski daje zwycięstwo w końcówce meczu! [GOL]". sport.tvp.pl (in Polish). 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  22. ↑ Lund, Tommy (15 October 2024). "Poland fight back to snatch 3–3 draw with Croatia". Reuters. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  23. ↑ "Chi è Zalewski: alle origini del talento della Roma". corrieredellosport.it (in Italian). 4 May 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  24. ↑ "Tragedia reprezentanta Polski, zmarł jego ojciec. "Kilka dni temu był najszczęśliwszym człowiekiem na ziemi"" [The tragedy of the Polish representative, his father died. "A few days ago he was the happiest man on earth"]. Meczyki.pl (in Polish). 24 September 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  25. ↑ "N. Zalewski". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  26. 1 2 Nicola Zalewski at National-Football-Teams.com OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  27. ↑ Honeyman, Sam (25 May 2022). "Roma 1–0 Feyenoord: Zaniolo strike wins the first Europa Conference League final". UEFA . Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  28. ↑ "PSG-Inter Milan : les Parisiens remportent brillamment la Ligue des champions". lemonde.fr. lemonde.fr. 31 May 2025. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
  29. ↑ "Robert Lewandowski piłkarzem 2022 roku! Wyniki plebiscytu tygodnika "Piłka Nożna"". polsatsport.pl (in Polish). 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  30. ↑ "Zalewski wins prestigious Golden Boy Award for being Europe's brightest under-21 football talent". The First News. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
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