Motta cashes in Roma reward

Hours after helping Italy through to the UEFA European Under-21 Championship semi-finals, Marco Motta has more to celebrate after sealing a permanent switch to UEFA Europa League contenders AS Roma.

Spalletti praise 
Azzurrini captain Motta will move to the capital from Udinese Calcio for a fee of €3.5m, with the Zebrette retaining an part of his playing licence. The right-back made a big impression after arriving at the Stadio Olimpico on loan in January, earning Luciano Spalletti's "compliments" after an impressive debut and going on to make 14 Serie A appearances. The coach added: "He has great speed, force and technical quality, and he is very good in the defensive phase of the game. He plays with great personality."

U21 duty
The 23-year-old will link up with Roma following the conclusion of the U21 finals, with Italy booking a last-four meeting with Germany on Friday after Tuesday's victory over Belarus sealed progress as Group A winners. Motta, who was called up for the senior squad in March, has been ever-present in Pierluigi Casiraghi's starting lineup in Sweden. There was bad some news in the italy camp today, however, after Paolo De Ceglie was ruled out of the rest of the tournament with an ankle injury.