The 23-year-old Italian-Polish full-back arrives on a permanent deal from Inter.
Following Kossounou, Kamaldeen Sulemana, Ahanor, and Sportiello, Nicola Zalewski is Atalanta BC's fifth permanent signing this summer. The Nerazzurri club has acquired his registration rights from FC Internazionale Milano.
The Italian-Polish midfielder, who chose the number 59 as his shirt, has already made 95 appearances in Serie A, as well as 26 in the UEFA Europa League and seven in the UEFA Conference League, the latter of which he won with Roma in May 2022. This impressive experience, at just 23 years old, is further enhanced not only by two appearances in the Champions League and two at the Club World Cup, but also by his participation with the Polish national team at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the 2024 European Championship in Germany. He has made 29 appearances for the Polish national team so far, scoring three goals.
Born in Tivoli on January 23, 2002, he began his football career at just six years old in the province of Rome, first at ASD Poli and then at Zagarolo. His precocious talent was noticed by Roma, where he played in the youth academy for ten years before making his first team debut on May 6, 2021, at the age of 19, in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League semi-finals. On May 9, he also made his Serie A debut in the victorious match against Crotone.
At the start of the 2021/22 season he was included in the first team, and on 25 May 2022 he played as a starter in the victorious UEFA Conference League final against Feyenoord.
The following season, still playing for Roma where he was often used as a starter (34 times in 45 appearances between the league and the UEFA Europa League), he scored his first goal in Serie A on 12 March 2023 against Sassuolo.
On February 1, 2025, he moved to Inter on loan: the following day, in the league derby against Milan, he provided the decisive assist in the 1-1 draw. On May 11, he scored his first goal for Inter in a 2-0 win at Torino. At the end of last season, Inter signed him permanently from Roma.
A dual citizen, he chose to represent his parents' country of origin, Poland, for whom he made his football debut on September 5, 2021. He played two matches at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and three matches at the 2024 European Championship in Germany, the latter being a preparation for which he scored his first goal for Poland on June 10, 2024, in a 2-1 friendly win against Turkey.
The Percassi family, the Pagliuca family, and the entire Nerazzurri Club extend a warm welcome to Nicola, wishing him every success—both personally and as a team—in the Nerazzurri shirt.
