Josh Doig living 'unbelievable' Italian dream as Sassuolo star opens up on toughest Serie A opponents

Josh Doig says he is loving every minute of his adventure in Italy and has picked out some of the best players he has came up against in Serie A so far.

The 21-year-old broke through with boyhood club Hibernian, making 78 first team appearances before earning a move to top-flight side Hellas Verona in the summer of 2022. The Scotland Under-21 international helped I Gialloblu beat the drop to Serie B in the his first season with the club.

Back in January, the full back then opted to remain in Italy by sealing a reported £5million switch to fellow Serie A side Sassuolo. Doig has found himself in the midst of another relegation battle, with his current employers sitting second bottom of the table with seven games to play. The tussle to stay in the top-flight in Italy is likely to go right until the last day with just seven points separating the teams in 13th and 19th place in Italy's top division.

Despite his team's struggles, Doig has relished the opportunity to adapt to a new way of life having come a long way from his early days in his home city of Edinburgh. Speaking to TNT Sports, he said: “I think away from football, the two sides I've played for (in Italy) I’ve loved the cities and it's been amazing. It's two different kind of cultures, two different cuisines as well and I think that's one thing I'll probably never, ever get anywhere else that is as good as the food here in Italy.

"It's unbelievable. It's too good. When I went home, during the international break, it just wasn't the same, I’m like a proper food snob now [laughs], nothing was good enough. I think that people dream of doing what I’m doing, so the fact that I get to do it and play my hobby as a job but at the same time live in Italy, I'm very lucky."

The defender admits his dad was in disbelief when he learned of his son's chance to move to the continent and feels that the partisan nature of fanbases in Italy are like no other. He added: “It was always kind of attractive to me, but I thought it would be a long route to kind of get here," Doig said. "But when the opportunity came up I jumped at it.

“It was obviously quite daunting at first, my move out of my house and away from my parents, but I think it excited me where it came up and it's probably been the best thing I've ever done, absolutely no regrets. I've absolutely loved, what is it? Almost two years now.

“My dad says that he used to watch Serie A every week and was obsessed with it when he was younger. And he's just in disbelief that I'm over here as well.

“It is brilliant [the fan culture]," Doig said. "I do love that side of the game and with Hellas we had great fans and now with Sass, they've not got the biggest support but they've got a group of fans and they're everywhere, they follow us everywhere, they’re so loyal and we really appreciate that as a team wherever we go they're with us so no I've been lucky in that sense with the fans we've had.

“And they're all crazy the fans here. They live and breathe football, I think that's kind of the Italian way and everyone's obsessed with football so no matter what stadium you go to, they'll be there.”

Doig has came up against some top players since swapping Leith for Northern Italy, having pitted his wits against the likes of AC Milan's star Rafael Leao, Matteo Politano and Juventus winger Federico Chiesa. However the youngster says Sassuolo team-mate Domenico Berardi is the best opponent he has came across in his 20 months in the Italian top-flight.

"It was last season," he recalled. "I remember. We played them at home when I was still with Verona we played Sassuolo and I remember being taken off at half-time, because my head was spinning.

“He was everywhere and he doesn't look like he's fast but I think it's his movement and his first touch is just, it takes him away from you so nicely. He’s a special player.”