Tom Ince following in famous footsteps with Italy move

Taking the trail blazed by his father does not seem to faze Tom Ince at all. It is widely anticipated the winger will sign for Inter Milan this week, just as dad Paul did in 1995.

In honour of this, Coral takes a look back at five footballers from the British Isles that have plied their trade in Serie A. Ince junior, sit back and be inspired.

Robbie Keane
A transfer from Coventry City to Inter is about as random a move as you can get, but Republic of Ireland record scorer Keane tried Italy for a short while as the Nerazzurri bought him for £13m in the summer of 2000.

It didn’t really work out, with Keane making a mere six Serie A appearances before being loaned back to England at Leeds United. Nonetheless, he went to have a stellar career, appearing at the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2012. Keane, who had a similarly botched move to Liverpool, shined for Spurs and is now playing out his days in the MLS as Los Angeles Galaxy’s marquee man.

John Charles
Legendary Leeds and Wales centre forward Charles, who could also do a decent job in defence, went out to Juventus in 1957 for a then British record fee of £65k. He fired the Old Lady to three Serie A titles and also won the Coppa Italia twice.

Charles was even named Italian footballer of the year in 1958. His hugely successful stint in Turin, where he netted over 100 goals, was in stark contrast to compatriot and Liverpool great Ian Rush a generation later. He returned to Anfield after a single season, while Charles stuck at it for five years and even went back to Italy briefly with capital club Roma.

Paul Gascoigne
Attacking midfielder ‘Gazza’ was plagued with so many problems in his life after football that we sometimes forget what a sensational talent he was. Despite sustaining several injuries, he is fondly remembered by Lazio’s fanatical support.

Gascoigne joined the Eternal City outfit from Spurs in 1992 for £5.5m. He won nothing during three seasons at Lazio, under first Dino Zoff and then Zdenek Zeman, but has an FA Cup triumph with Tottenham and back-to-back Scottish Premiership titles with Rangers on his CV.

David Beckham
Right midfielder Becks had two loan spells at AC Milan, in order to maintain his fitness during the MLS off-season. Although the ex-England captain, and former Manchester United and Real Madrid man, earned no silverware during his stints at the San Siro, he still proved he could match up to the elite in Europe.