What Happened To Manuel De Luca? Fans Come Together To Support Italian After Cremonese Axe

Serie A fans have come together to support Manuel De Luca, after Cremonese look to push the 27-year-old out of the squad following Jamie Vardy’s arrival.

Who Is Manuel De Luca?

The striker has been a consistent presence in Italian soccer, playing for multiple sides across Series A-C and recently made the headlines after scoring the winner in Cremonese’s 3-2 victory over Sassuolo.

After joining Torino’s youth set-up in January 2015, De Luca struggled to cement a place in the clubs’ senior side and went on to make various loan moves between 2018-2020.

De Luca donned the jersey at Renate, Alessandria and Virtus Entella, before leaving Torino on a permanent basis in September 2020 by joining Chievo Verona.

Once again, De Luca failed to make a lasting impact and went on to join Sampdoria as a free agent in August 2021, contributing to 16 goals in 38 appearances (10G + 6A).

Once again, the Italian striker was sent out on loan, signing for Perugia and his performances earned a permanent move to his current side, Cremonese, in July 2024.

Since then, the 27-year-old has won the hearts of supporters and played a pivotal role in Cremonese’s promotion success last season, as De Luca scored a brace in the 3-2 victory over Spezia in the playoff final second-leg.

Going into this upcoming season, fans expected De Luca to lead the line once again, as Cremonese could not compete with the biggest spenders in Serie A.

However, the newly-promoted side managed to find the funds to bring some firepower up-front, signing David Okereke from Gaziantep and Premier League icon, Jamie Vardy.

It’s the latter that has caused the frustration among fans, with the former Leicester City player coming in as a free agent and entering the final stages of his career.

De Luca has accumulated just 14 minutes from the two Serie A matches so far, coming off the bench on each occasion and his time at the club could be coming to an end.

One Italian soccer fan commented on the situation involving De Luca, saying: “Modern football is this kind of thing. On Saturday, you make your team win with a goal in the dying moments and win the man of the match award. On Tuesday, they cut you from the squad to make room for a 38-year-old who hasn’t trained in six months. Solidarity with Manuel De Luca.”

Il calcio moderno è questa cosa qui. Sabato fai vincere la tua squadra con un gol in pieno recupero e vinci il premio come migliore in campo. Martedì ti tagliano dalla rosa per fare posto ad un 38enne che non si allena da sei mesi. Solidarietà a Manuel De Luca#Cremonese #SerieA pic.twitter.com/dEliel8J4P

— Il Toro Addosso (@iltoroaddosso) September 3, 2025

Is Manuel De Luca Leaving Cremonese?

As you have probably gathered by now, Manuel De Luca has been a bit of a journey man in Italian soccer during his career, playing across each division and for eight different clubs.

He appeared to have found his new home with Cremonese, being the hero up-front last season, but Jamie Vardy’s arrival means his time may be coming to end.

Jamie Vardy comes to the club with a huge reputation, winning the Premier League and FA Cup with Leicester, whilst scoring 145 goals in England’s top-flight.

Despite his age (38), some supporters have pointed towards the Englishman as an outsider for the Serie A Golden Boot and Vardy should be a regular starter.

Davide Nicola will need to be cautious with the former England international, as managing his minutes could increase Vardy’s overall quality throughout the season.

If Vardy can show signs of the player that stole the show at Leicester, then Manuel De Luca is unlikely to play a big part in Cremonese’s plans this season and the Italian may look for a move away in January/