Crossword Genius

Dribbling Italian wingers in Salerno about to net five (10)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

salivation

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'dribbling' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I cannot understand how one could define the other.

'italian wingers in salerno about to net five' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'italian' could be 'i' (abbreviation for Italian) and 'i' is found in the answer.
'about' could be 'on' (as in a book 'on' a certain topic) and 'on' is found within the answer.
'five' could be 'v' (Roman numeral) and 'v' is found in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for salivation that I've seen before include "preparation for eating" , "Sign of anticipation" , "Signs of expecting lunch" , "sign of hunger" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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