Atalanta’s Under 23 project has reached its fourth season with a familiar purpose: turning Zingonia’s youth work into a bridge towards senior football. The first-team pathway has already brought Bernasconi through last year and Obric this season, while Vanja Vlahovic at Mantova and Dominic Vavassori at Palermo have made encouraging starts in Serie B. Now a new group is carrying that responsibility in Serie C.
Nicola Beati, appointed in the summer after leaving Verona, is taking charge of his first full role as a head coach. Previously a technical assistant to Paolo Zanetti for several years, Beati inherited a side still finding its rhythm in Group B: after six league fixtures, Atalanta Under 23 had won three and lost three, placing them in mid-table.
A new generation at Zingonia
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The goalkeeper born in Brescia on 16 December 2008 has made an immediate step up from the Primavera. Promoted during the summer, he has started all seven matches played so far across Serie C and the domestic youth cup.
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His promotion followed a decisive Primavera Coppa Italia final against Juventus at the end of last season. He made four important saves during the match and then stopped two penalties in the shoot-out. It was not an isolated quality: he had also saved two spot-kicks in the quarter-finals and another two during league action.
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His ability from penalties has drawn comparisons, in style rather than status, with Marco Carnesecchi, particularly for his technique and positioning. Italy Under 20 coach Carmine Nunziata included him in the squad during the international break, alongside Idele and Mirra.
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Mirra arrived from Roma after two seasons as a prominent Primavera captain. The 189cm centre-back is naturally right-footed and comfortable enough in possession to operate in front of the defence when required. In his first season in Bergamo, he has already emerged as a figure of authority for the Under 23 side.
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Plaia, another former Roma defender, had joined Atalanta a year earlier. Born in Brussels in 2006, he has been a regular since the middle of last season and began the current campaign as an undisputed starter. He also spent the whole summer preparation period at Zingonia with Maurizio Sarri’s first-team group.
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Between late 2024 and early 2025, Plaia represented Italy Under 18 with his twin brother Francesco, now a goalkeeper for Al-Waab in Qatar.
Levak’s patience and Steffanoni’s authority
Sergej Levak appears among the players closest to a first-team breakthrough. The Croatian midfielder, born in 2006, had been expected to make that jump this season before Atalanta opted to retain Ederson and pursue Kessie. Instead, Levak has remained with the Under 23s despite summer interest that included Serie A clubs.
That decision has been underlined by a new contract running to 2031. Levak had also completed Sarri’s summer preparation alongside Plaia, scoring twice against the Under 23 team in the first friendly of the new regime.
At 195cm, Levak combines considerable physical presence with the versatility of a box-to-box midfielder. His profile has invited a cautious comparison with Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. He finished his first Serie C campaign with seven goals and has begun the new Group B season with one goal and two assists, putting him on course to challenge those figures again.
Steffanoni offers the most local connection in the group. Born in Treviglio on 4 September 2008, he joined Atalanta’s academy at seven and was among the key figures in the Under 16 title-winning side of 2024. Having only recently turned 18, he has also received a call-up from Massimiliano Favo’s Italy Under 19 squad.
For the Under 23s, Steffanoni has already become a technical reference point. He reads the game well, takes responsibility in possession and does not shy away when matches demand a player to ask for the ball. His distribution has the composure of a more experienced midfielder, while his willingness to contribute defensively adds to the impression of unusual maturity.
Ederson is the player he looks to for inspiration. Whether Steffanoni will soon share a dressing room with him at first-team level remains part of the wider question facing Atalanta’s academy: not whether the talent is there, but which of these young players will take the next decisive step.
