Serie B is often described as a waiting room, but this season’s younger players give it a different role: a testing ground where reputations from national teams, Champions League nights and major academies must be turned into regular football. For ten prospects, the next months will say more than the labels attached to them.
Quick facts
- Simone Pafundi has started brightly at Catanzaro with a goal and an assist across three league and Coppa Italia appearances.
- Dominic Vavassori, 20, answered Filippo Inzaghi’s 15-goal challenge with confidence after scoring twice against Padova.
- Empoli striker Bohdan Popov scored twice on his Serie B debut against Padova on 23 August 2025.
- Inter loanees Thomas Berenbruch, Luka Topalovic and Matteo Cocchi are each taking their first substantial steps in Serie B.
Pafundi remains the most recognisable name on the list. The attacking midfielder from Monfalcone became Italy’s third-youngest debutant four years ago, when he shared an Azzurri dressing room with Marco Verratti, but the breakthrough expected of him has yet to arrive.
At 20, there is no need for final judgments. Catanzaro have offered him a useful environment after a difficult spell, and his opening contribution of one goal and one assist in three matches between league and cup suggests a player beginning again rather than standing still.
Tommaso Berti has taken a more decisive step. The 2004-born midfielder left his hometown club Cesena permanently for Cremonese in the summer, ending a long association with the side he grew up watching at the Manuzzi.
His objective is now to establish himself in Cremonese’s midfield as he did at Cesena. Berti has already been around the senior Italy set-up under Silvio Baldini and is an important figure for the Under-21 side; the question is whether he can move beyond being a reliable Serie B player and force his way towards the higher level.
Palermo have found imagination in Dominic Vavassori, known as DV9. The 2005-born forward has Brazilian roots through his father and Polish roots through his mother, while he was adopted by a family from Bergamo. He has chosen to represent Italy and is currently involved with the Under-21s.
Comfortable wide but particularly suited to playing close to a centre-forward, Vavassori combines dribbling with an eye for goal. His two goals against Padova brought attention at the Barbera, while his response to Inzaghi’s target was clear: he believes he can reach 15 goals.
His parent club, Atalanta, have already handed him a first-team appearance against Fiorentina. A return to Bergamo with a stronger claim for minutes would be the natural next stage.
Fabio Rispoli’s route has taken him from Virtus Verona in Serie C to Catanzaro and now Sudtirol, his third consecutive loan. The 2006-born midfielder belongs to Como, where Cesc Fabregas has made clear that the plan is for Rispoli to develop elsewhere before competing for a first-team role.
Rispoli has the profile of an all-action midfielder: he plays with his head up, sees forward options, arrives late into attacking areas and can also provide defensive work. He scored once last season and has already opened his account this term against Arezzo.
Another player from Como’s system, French midfielder Andrea Le Borgne, has already experienced a rapid change of scenery. Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine shortly after the 2006 World Cup final, the tall midfielder made his Serie A debut against Lecce last December before moving out on loan.
After a spell at Avellino, he joined Verona, where he has played every match and supplied two assists. Standing close to 1.90 metres, Le Borgne brings a different physical presence to a technically assured game, and he remains highly regarded by Fabregas.
At Empoli, Popov has a story that extends beyond the scoreline. The Ukrainian centre-forward was in Poland with Dynamo Kyiv for a youth tournament when Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022. He has not returned home since.
His introduction to Italian football was memorable. Replacing Sebastiano Shpendi against Padova on 23 August 2025, Popov scored twice and immediately became a name to follow. Still only a 2007-born forward, he remains with Empoli in Serie B and continues to pursue the goals that could complete his rise.
Emanuele Rao is another player using the division to reset his course. The Napoli-owned 20-year-old has already passed through Chievo, SPAL and Bari before arriving at Pisa, where he has made three substitute appearances.
His season at Bari was split between team disappointment and individual progress. Relegation to Serie C hurt the club, but Rao’s own campaign marked a turning point, offering Pisa a player who has learned from a difficult year and still has time to grow.
Avellino’s Thomas Berenbruch arrives with a nickname that sets a demanding standard. “Bellinbruch”, a nod to Jude Bellingham, is an Inter product from the Lecco area who won the Primavera title, scoring in the final, and made two senior appearances under Simone Inzaghi.
One came in the Champions League and the other in the Coppa Italia against Milan. Berenbruch can operate in several roles and has the determination to make the step up, although his physical development remains an issue as he adapts from Inter Under-23 football in Serie C to the heavier demands of Avellino and Serie B.
Inter have also sent Luka Topalovic to Carrarese. The Slovenian, born in 2006, joined the Nerazzurri from Domzale two years ago and has delivered consistently at youth level, earning Serie A minutes under both Inzaghi and Cristian Chivu.
He debuted in the final round of the 2024-25 season at Como, then appeared at Bologna last May, providing the assist that sent Andy Diouf through on goal. His early work at Carrarese has been encouraging, and Serie B may prove to be a brief stage rather than a long stay.
Matteo Cocchi completes the Inter group. The 2007-born left-sided player, from Molinella near Bologna, has moved to Padova after making one Serie A appearance, two Coppa Italia outings and a Champions League appearance for Inter.
His route has invited comparisons with Federico Dimarco: a left-sided attacking player being sent away to learn senior football before seeking another chance at Inter. Cocchi also has football in the family, with grandfather Claudio a Bologna favourite and father Edgardo part of Davide Ballardini’s Bologna side.
None of these careers will be settled by an autumn run or a single decisive afternoon. Yet Serie B has placed each of them where a young player eventually has to be: beyond academy promise, beyond the comfort of famous clubs, and judged by what he does when Sunday arrives.
