'IT'S SURREAL!'

Stoke City youngster who grew up in Cheshire eyes Euro under-17 final place... with ITALY!

- Peter Smith

STOKE City prospect Laurence Giani is going into the under-17s European Championships semi-final with Italy tonight hoping he is picking up things from this summer that will help him for the rest of his career.

The 17-year-old left-back, who grew up in Northwich and qualifies for Italy through his grandad, will line up for Italy against Portugal in Albania (7.30pm) for the chance to play either France or Belgium in the final on Sunday.

It caps a whirlwind season for the defender, who has captained Stoke under-18s, made his breakthrough for the 21s and started training with the first team - being named on the bench for a Carabao Cup game in October.

His priority now is to help Italy retain a title they won last year - and then he can start to think about trying to catch the eye of Mark Robins and continue his progression back in the Potteries.

He said: “We want to show everyone that Italy are one of the best youth national teams in Europe and the world.

“It would be brilliant to do that again. It gives you an extra confidence boost and shows how much faith people have in you.