Said they intended to bring over the Italian intellectual (6)
I believe the answer is:
mental
'intellectual' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
I can't explain the remainder of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for mental that I've seen before include "Light allowing vehicles to turn while ahead is red" , "Nuts" , "Done in the mind" , "Intellectual" , "Crazy" .)