Sassuolo sporting director Giovanni Rossi insists Manuel Locatelli can still reach the elite level.

Still only 22, the former AC Milan midfielder has played 20 games in Serie A this term with Sassuolo.

"We live of relationships and we need to consolidate and improve them," he told Sky Sport Italia. “We have important players like Manuel, [Domenico] Berardi, [Jeremie] Boga and [Hamed] Traore in the squad.

“And then we have others out [on loan] like [Davide] Frattesi and [Gianluca] Scamacca that we want to grow.

“Locatelli arrived from a difficult moment, now he is confirming his high levels, also thanks to De Zerbi.

“We must understand when the time will be right to let him leave. When he leaves, he will become a protagonist at the top level, he has everything you need to do it."