Kayode: A poster boy for Italy's new era

Dropped by Juventus

Kayode went from Italy's fourth division, Serie D, to the Premier League in a four-year span when he joined Brentford last year. The English club is having quite a start to the season, sitting in fourth place after pounding Chelsea 3-0 on the day that Kayode received his first call-up.

Before he dedicated himself to football, though, Kayode loved to run.

"I always watched Bolt at the Olympics and athletes like (Justin) Gatlin, (Yohan) Blake," Kayode said.

But since his father was always watching matches on TV, Kayode got interested in football, too.

At age six, Kayode started training at Juventus' youth academy, but the Turin club let him go at 14 and he ended up with Gozzano in Serie D.

Fiorentina then signed him to its youth academy and the rise has been rapid: his Serie A debut at 19, a spot in the starting lineup of a squad that reached the Conference League final, and the move to England.