Who Is Giovanni Fabbian?
So far in this transfer window, Bologna have been at the centre of two of the biggest transfer stories of the summer, having sold forward Joshua Zirkzee to Manchester United, while defender Riccardo Calafiori is reportedly close to joining Arsenal following an impressive EURO 2024 outing.
Bologna have enjoyed a meteoric rise in Serie A recently, finishing fifth last season — their best season in the top flight since 1970/71.
This followed several years of sitting around mid-table, so it was only really a matter of time before clubs came knocking for their best players.
One important player who could define their 2024/25 campaign is 21-year-old midfielder Giovanni Fabbian.
A product of the Inter Milan academy, Fabbian is not yet confirmed to be playing for Vincenzo Italiano’s side for the upcoming season, but his former club, Inter, is reportedly interested in bringing him back to the capital.
Regardless of which shirt Fabbian is donning in the 2024/25 season, he will be determined to build on his first two seriously impressive seasons in senior football.
This Giovanni Fabbian scout report will provide a tactical analysis of the midfielder, with the analysis highlighting the key elements of his game and how they benefitted Bologna’s tactics last season.
Giovanni Fabbian Player Overview
As you can see from the visual above, Fabbian is a highly attacking midfielder, so if you haven’t watched him play before, you’d probably assume he plays as a number 10.
While he can and has played in that role, he has spent the most time playing in the number 8 role.
Bologna often deploy a 4-1-4-1, and Fabbian operates as the RCM in that system.
In the 2023/24 season, Fabbian was one of the most attack-minded RCMs in Seria A — high percentiles for several key attacking areas, such as touches in the box, shots, and goal contributions, all act as evidence for this.
The winner of the 2022/23 Serie B Young Player of the Season award, Fabbian was also one of the brightest U21 stars in Serie A last season.
As we will discuss further, Fabbian’s role in Bologna’s tactics means he doesn’t have a huge role defensively in terms of direct engagement.
The heatmap from last season shows us that he is a bigger presence in the final third and the penalty box, making runs and off-the-ball movements into dangerous areas.
He also has a tendency to drift out to the right flank during build-up play phases in the final third, where he is able to showcase his strong crossing ability.
Bologna were one of Serie A’s most aggressive teams out of possession in the 2023/24 season.
They recorded a PPDA of 10.05 (third-lowest in the division) along with a challenge intensity of 6.1 — the joint highest register in Serie A.
And, while Fabbian does like to engage in terms of instigating the press, as you can see in the analysis image above, the data tells us that he doesn’t engage much directly — low numbers of defensive duels, interceptions, and high regains/recoveries in the final third all tell us that he isn’t tasked with a whole lot of defensive responsibility.
Giovanni Fabbian Build-up play and chance creation
Fabbian has displayed a versatility in his skillset in terms of what he can offer in various attacking/build-up scenarios.
From making runs in behind the opposition defence to dropping in deeper to play a half-back-type role, Fabbian’s ability to adapt has served him well so far in his short career.
As mentioned, Fabbian likes to break free of the typical midfield shackles we see in possession-based sides by making runs in behind the defence, as shown above.
Interestingly, his partnership with Zirkzee was an important part of Bologna’s tactics—the now-Manchester United player could often be seen dropping in deeper while Fabbian made the darting run in behind.
Bologna averaged 57.7% possession last season (third highest in Serie A), but their style shifts away from your typical possession-based approach—they like to incorporate fluidity and positional freedom.
This becomes hard to defend against and also allows for Bologna’s quick pace of possession, as evidenced by their passing rate of 15.7 (third highest in Serie A).
Fabbian’s attacking qualities from midfield can be a massive benefit for those tactics when executed correctly.
We mentioned his versatility in style when it comes to what he offers during build-up phases, and above is another example.
While he sometimes offers a high-intensity, energetic presence in the engine room, he does have the ability to switch things up, be more reserved in possession, and even drop in deeper to be an important cog in early build-up stages.
Creativity from midfield is simply a must-have for the majority of midfield roles in the modern game, and Fabbian brings that in healthy amounts.
The data visual above shows us exactly that, as well as demonstrating his attacking presence.
Compared to other RCMs in Serie A last season, nobody recorded more key passes per 90 than Fabbian (0.61).
At the same time, he also had a high engagement inside the box (2.97 touches in box per 90 — highest of U21 Serie A players of any position).
This showcases his ability to move the ball into dangerous positions, as well as showing us that he is a consistent presence in the box.
His work in attacking transitions is another strength he possesses and perhaps something he could look to utilise more often at club level.
The example above may show what looks to be a simple pass in a moment of transition.
Still, Fabbian showed composure and quick thinking when playing a forward pass into an area full of teammates — this gave his side the chance to launch a counterattack quickly.
Giovanni Fabbian Goal threat
As we’ve touched on a couple of times already, Fabbian is a rarity in terms of modern central midfielders, especially with how much he gets involved in an attacking sense.
We’ve seen his overall role and position in Bologna’s tactics and discussed his build-up play abilities.
But now, it is time to fully understand just how much of an attacking CM he really is.
From CF-like runs to being a vital cog within the final stages of a build-up, Fabbian is truly at his most effective in the final third.
We’ve spoken of his in-possession abilities in important build-up phases, but now, we’re looking to get the bread and butter of an attacking midfielder — goals and assists.
At such a young age, in his debut Serie A season, Fabbian looked at home in 2023/24.
While his attacking style may have been a reason for his slight drop in game time when it came to certain fixtures, when he was present, he provided an undoubted threat when it came to creating chances for his teammates.
We touched on this earlier with his use of key passes, but we’re looking deeper here as many of his best moments of chance creation come inside the box.
As the data above tells us, not many RCMs in Serie A averaged more assists than Bologna’s talisman in midfield.
He also ranked (relatively) high when it came to shot assists, proving that he is consistent in his game when it comes to providing chances for teammates.
This analysis image shows us a lot of what we’ve discussed so far.
It starts with Fabbian being positioned like a CF in a front-two system, with him making a run into the space on the outside of the defender marking him.
That positioning alone is important in terms of his play style and how it complements Bologna’s tactics.
While this move did have an element of good fortune to it in terms of how the ball reached Fabbian (second image), the continuation of his positioning and movement are what we are trying to get at here.
After he receives the ball well, he displays his excellent vision by floating a delicate cross into the gap behind the last opposition defender for his teammate to run onto and finish.
Chance creation isn’t the only way Fabbian inserts himself into attacking play.
In comparison to U21 players in Serie A, he ranks second when it comes to shots per 90 (2.05 per 90), and as we can see from the graph above, he ranks second compared to all RCMs in the league for goals per 90, showing a real knack for hurting the opposition when it counts.
His total of seven G/A in 2023/24 is the second-highest of any U21 player in Italy’s top division.
A lot of his big chances and goals come as a result of high positioning in important attacking moments, like the one you see above.
Earlier, we saw how Fabbian utilises the box to get into positions to create chances for teammates, but this example showcases his talent for moving off of defenders to get into goalscoring scenarios.
As you can see, Fabbian is looking to get into the box early in the build-up, positioned alongside the opposition defence, similar to how a CF would.
He continues this movement, and as he anticipates the cross, he peels away from his defender slightly to grant him an all-important bit of space that sets him up to meet the cross first and head the ball into the goal.
His movement, anticipation, and aggression made this possible, while his timing and execution allowed him to finish the move off with a well-timed header.
Conclusion
At 21, Fabbian still has some years before he reaches the prime of his career.
Yes, there are areas to improve — we’ve mentioned a couple, namely his consistency in transitions and his defensive output, but his attacking contribution is a joy to watch.
Goalscoring midfielders seem to be a dying breed in the modern game.
While Fabbian has yet to post numbers similar to the likes of goalscoring midfield legend Frank Lampard, for example, his skill set already has many desirable qualities that suggest he will become more and more important as each year passes.
The question remains: who will he be scoring those goals for?
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