Ireland U-21 and Roma player, Kevin Zefi, has opened up about his struggles in Serie A and how a move away from Rome could benefit the youngster’s career.
Who Is Kevin Zefi?
Born in February 2005, Kevin Zefi, first caught the eye during his time with Shamrock Rovers II in 2020, as at 15-years and 206 days, the Irishman became the youngest goalscorer in League of Ireland history.
Despite never making an appearance for the Irish side’s first-team, Zefi impressed enough to secure a move to Italy and signed for Inter Milan’s youth team in August 2021.
During his time across the various youth set-ups at the Nerazzurri, Zefi made 47 appearances and contributed to 36 goals (25G + 11A) – with his most notable spell coming with the U19 where Zefi scored 19 goals in 19 appearances.
These performances were not enough to earn a spot in Inter’s senior side and in January 2024, the former Shamrock Rovers prospect signed for Roma in a free deal.
Roma, who are set to begin their 2025/26 pre-season tour in the coming days, utilized the Irishman in their U20 side and Zefi made 28 appearances during the 2024/25 campaign – contributing to 10 goals in the process (3G + 7A).
Zefi was reportedly catching the eye in training under Claudio Ranieri, but the Irishman revealed that after turning down a new deal in Rome, he has been fazed out of the squad and is now looking to prove the Italian side wrong.
The Irishman said (Via Irish Independent):“I have that fire in my belly to prove Inter and Roma wrong. I just want to get back to playing football and being happy.
“That’s what I miss most. I want to show the whole football world the Kevin Zefi I was once.”
Has Kevin Zefi Played in Serie A?
Despite being on the books of two Serie A sides, the 20-year-old has never made an appearance in Italy’s top division and will now leave Rome as the Giallorossi are happy to let Zefi leave this summer.
To many people’s surprise, the Roma player appeared in a pre-season friendly for Sligo Rovers in recent days, taking on League One side Mansfield – even scoring a goal.
Kevin Zefi’s goal for Sligo Rovers last night against League One side Mansfield Town!🇮🇪pic.twitter.com/gu9JcAGZrj
— Rep of Ireland Player Tracker (@reptracker) July 16, 2025
Zefi has spoke publicly about how moving to Italy was a mistake and has huge regrets over missing out on a move to Newcastle, after a deal fell through back in 2024.
Despite this, the Irish player continued to push on, but continued to face multiple issues in Italy and Zefi revealed that he was subject to racial abuse on multiple occasions.
Zefi said (Via Irish Independent): “Obviously, I came in as an Irish kid, half-Albanian as well, and racism starts to kick in. You just have to be strong mentally. There were a couple of incidents.
“When you’re playing well, you let it slide, you have a joke back, but when you’re not doing so well, it hurts. It was opposition players, some of your own players talking behind your back and thinking you don’t understand what they are saying. ‘You Irish, you Albanian so and so, that type of stuff.”
Gian Piero Gasperini has recently added another Irishman to his ranks, with Roma signing Evan Ferguson on loan from Brighton ahead of the 2025/26 season.
