Tommaso Baldanzi (born 23 March 2003) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Serie A club Roma.[2]
Born in Poggibonsi and raised in Castelfiorentino, Baldanzi first started playing football at the local grassroots club, aged six; two years later, he joined the youth sector of Empoli,[3][4] where he came through the youth ranks and won an under-16 national championship in 2019.[5]
On 28 October 2020, the midfielder made his professional debut for Empoli, coming on as a substitute in a 4–2 Coppa Italia win against Benevento; during the victory, he assisted Leonardo Mancuso's closing goal.[3][4][6] In the same season, he helped Empoli's under-19 team win the Campionato Primavera,[7] being also nominated as the league's MVP in the process.[8]
In the following season, after featuring in the UEFA Youth League,[9] Baldanzi was officially promoted to the first team, together with teammates Jacopo Fazzini and Duccio Degli Innocenti.[10] He then made his Serie A debut on 22 May 2022, replacing Patrick Cutrone in the 74th minute of a 1–0 away win against Atalanta.[11]
On 28 August of the same year, Baldanzi started his first league match against Lecce,[12] which ended in a 1–1 draw.[13] Three days after, on 31 August, he scored his first professional goal in a 1–1 league draw against Hellas Verona.[14] On 23 January 2023, Baldanzi scored the only goal of a 1–0 league victory against Inter Milan.[15]
Baldanzi has represented Italy at various youth international levels.
In June 2022, he was included in the squad that took part in the 2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Slovakia,[17] where the Azzurrini reached the semi-finals before losing to eventual winners England.[18]
Both in May and December 2022, Baldanzi was involved in training camps led by the Italian senior national team's manager, Roberto Mancini, and aimed to the most promising national talents.[19][20] On 24 March 2023 he made his debut for the Italy U21 squad in a friendly match won 2–0 against Serbia.
In May 2023, he was included in the Italian squad that took part in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina,[21] where the Azzurrini finished runners-up after losing to Uruguay in the final match.[22][23]
Baldanzi is an attacking midfielder, who mainly operates as a number 10, but can also play as a left winger in an attacking trio.[4][24][25][26] Due to his low center of gravity, he has shown notable quickness, ball control, technique and creativity.[3][25] Primarily a left-footer, he can also use his weaker right foot as well,[4][25] and represents a frequent attacking threat, thanks to his vision, his dribbling skills and his shooting (both from short and long range).[24][25][26]
Rated as one of the best Italian prospects of his generation,[3] Baldanzi has been compared to Sebastian Giovinco and Papu Gómez,[4][27] although he cited Paulo Dybala as his biggest source of inspiration.[24][27]
| Club | Season | League | Coppa Italia | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Empoli | 2020–21 | Serie B | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| 2021–22 | Serie A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | 26 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 27 | 4 | |||
| 2023–24 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 2 | |||
| Total | 41 | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | 44 | 6 | |||
| Roma | 2023–24 | Serie A | 13 | 0 | — | 5[a] | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| 2024–25 | 31 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9[a] | 0 | 41 | 2 | ||
| 2025–26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 46 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 61 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 87 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 105 | 8 | ||
Empoli U16
Empoli U19
Italy U20
Individual
