Many new midfielders have arrived in Serie A this season, while plenty of others have moved from one team to another in the same Italian league, looking for more playing time and striving to get their opportunity to shine in one of the most competitive and complicated leagues in terms of tactics, especially in midfield.
Yacine Adli, Teun Koopmeiners, Scott McTominay, Youssouf Fofana, and Davide Frattesi are some of the midfielders expected to have a major impact on their own teams this season.
Their level is witnessing a significant upgrade and is more likely to improve even further during the season.
These five players’ notable progress took place either due to their change of teams and the possibility of getting more playing time, plus the motivation that increases with such changes, or simply due to developing their skills and abilities further.
Perhaps the best example of someone who developed his skills and improved a lot as a player compared to last season is Frattesi, the player who joined Inter Milan on loan last season and is under contract until 2028.
That being said, numerous other midfielders are also capable of making their breakthrough this season and surprising everyone with their level, but it would be complicated to discuss every profile in detail in one article.
This tactical analysis and Serie A scout report will illuminate these five names and their actual importance to their teams’ tactics.
The analysis will also aim to explore what makes these players worthy of being mentioned as players expected to make their breakthrough this season.
This means that we will be trying to cover the signs that show these players’ progress and impact on the games.
Yacine Adli Scouting Report
Adli was formed at PSG before moving to Bordeaux, where he got more playing time and shone in Ligue 1 to attract the interest of AC Milan.
Afterwards, he did not earn Stefano Pioli‘s confidence to play as a starter.
The Italian manager used him occasionally, delaying his breakthrough and impacting his match sharpness but working with him to improve his abilities at the same time.
Last season, he started playing a bit further and produced some convincing performances, but he was not able to consistently get a starting spot with the Rossoneri.
During the last summer transfer window, Adli was loaned to Fiorentina with an option to buy and started the season convincingly.
He showcased his developed passing skills and contributed significantly to Fiorentina’s positive results at the start of this season.
The French midfielder hopes to integrate into the French senior national team soon and will surely do so if he maintains his current form.
He knows that he contributed to Fiorentina’s results not only by providing key passes but also by scoring very important goals against difficult teams like his former team, Milan.
He started the season as a substitute and then convinced Raffaele Palladino with his performances.
He got a few starts recently and confirmed his abilities by scoring key goals against Milan and against The New Saints in the Europa League.
Although Fiorentina is actually in the 11th position, Adli’s contribution will continue to be very important.
He showed great fluidity in his positioning in midfield, with and without the ball, by consistently providing passing options.
Thanks to his pinpointed long passes, he also showed his ability to lead the building from the back and find the perfect passing solutions.
With an overall passing accuracy of 83% and a long passing accuracy of 58.3%, we can argue that Adli has the potential to be even more dangerous using his long passes and by working even further on his key short passes to provide more assists per season despite not being an advanced playmaker.
This goal example against Milan can represent the revolution of this player as it was his proof to everyone that he has the abilities needed to score against any team and put on convincing performances at the highest level.
The curved shot from a complicated angle showcases Adli’s talent, excellent vision, and accuracy of shooting technique.
If he keeps working on his shooting abilities, Adli has the potential to become one of the most dangerous midfielders in Serie A, especially if he gets shooting from distance opportunities often.
Teun Koopmeiners Scouting Report
In fact, Koopmeiners is one of the midfielders who has already had an impactful season in Serie A when he played for Atalanta.
He has already made his breakthrough as a midfielder, scoring goals and providing assists against most of Italy’s powerful teams.
However, his move to a team like Juventus can represent a new, fresh start for him and a different kind of breakthrough under Thiago Motta’s management, knowing that Koopmeiners was already very useful in Atalanta’s midfield.
One of Koopmeiners’ remarkable traits is his shooting ability, especially the power he uses in his shots whenever he gets the opportunity.
With an average of 1.57 attempted shots and 37.5% shots on target, we can argue that Koopmeiners can still improve his shooting numbers and make use of his rare shooting capacities to benefit himself and Juventus.
Motta will indeed work with the international Dutch to find ways to make his shots more consistent and create more shooting opportunities for him, knowing that his shots can only be dangerous thanks to their power, even though they are not always accurate.
This goal, scored against Juventus when Koopmeiners was still at Atalanta, highlights the power with which he confuses goalkeepers by using his left foot in a particular way.
This also proves that Koopmeiners will be helpful not only in terms of playmaking or goalscoring but also in creating specific plans for set pieces that rely on his shooting skills.
Although he has yet to score goals for Juventus, he has already been impactful with critical passes, as he recently succeeded in providing an assist against Genoa.
This confirms that he adapted successfully inside the team and has already started creating chemistry with teammates like Dušan Vlahović.
Such chemistry will be very important for Juventus in the long run.
Scott McTominay Scouting Report
Following Napoli’s intended “revolution” under Antonio Conte’s tactics, Scott McTominay joined Napoli from Manchester United to take part in Conte’s project to help Napoli compete for the Scudetto once again following last season’s failure.
In a midfield formed of André-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Stanislav Lobotka, McTominay was the piece needed to make the perfect puzzle.
The Scottish international provides the necessary physical resistance in midfield and helps with shots and key passes upfront.
With names like Politano, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and Romelu Lukaku‘s addition to the team, McTominay has all that is needed to succeed.
The whole team is striving to help Napoli come back stronger.
They already started doing so and are actually leading Serie A with 16 points.
Following McTominay’s departure from Manchester United, his performances at Napoli looked more convincing.
He looked more consistent and knew exactly what to do on the pitch.
Moreover, his attacking movements with and without the ball were usually effective in the first few games in Serie A as he was also able to score two goals lately, one against Como and another against Palermo in Coppa Italia.
Positioning himself well and coming from the back to receive passes that allow him to shoot from distance and surprise goalkeepers has helped McTominay score two goals already and be central to Napoli’s attacks, even though he plays as a central midfielder.
However, at the same time, Conte has been experimenting with McTominay lately and has changed his position, making him play as an advanced playmaker instead.
That proved successful, especially when playing according to the 4-2-3-1 formation.
Youssouf Fofana Scouting Report
After spending two years at Strasbourg and four years at AS Monaco, Fofana joined Milan following the departure of Frank Kessié and Sandro Tonali and the recurrent injuries of Ismaël Bennacer.
Therefore, Milan are actually relying heavily on Fofana to make up for these departures and be a pivotal player in Milan’s midfield.
Since his first matches with the Rossoneri, Fofana has attracted everyone’s attention thanks to his excellent decision-making under pressure, his great defensive work, his ability to read the game well, and his ability to intercept passes aimed at breaking defensive lines.
Fofana is used as a defensive midfielder with the support of Tijjani Reijnders in Paolo Fonseca’s 4-2-3-1.
He has had some crucial roles at Milan this season, as he is the player who covers and forms a defensive line in front of the defence.
Whether supported by Reijnders or by Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who has often been used as an advanced playmaker lately, Fofana should always remain attentive in front of the defence and ensure that duels are won in a vital area.
So far, Fofana has been very effective in this regard, even though such a role can be undermined at times as it is not as obvious as scoring goals or providing assists.
At the start of this season, Fofana ran a lot per match, touched the ball a lot, and played in different areas of the pitch.
He also had key playmaking roles.
The following touch map highlights Fofana’s importance to Milan.
He dramatically helps in the build-up from the back and conserves the ball in the opponent’s half.
Youssouf Fofana Touch Map
Continuing to use his physical strength and defensive intelligence to win duels and intercept passes to create counterattacking opportunities for Milan will make him a valuable player for the team this season.
If he succeeds in remaining consistent throughout the season, Fofana is destined to become one of Milan’s most important players in the future.
Davide Frattesi Scouting Report
Frattesi is a 25-year-old midfielder who plays for Inter Milan and for the Azzurri after undergoing a long journey of loans at Ascoli, Empoli, Monza and Inter Milan last season, knowing that he started his senior career at Sassuolo.
The several loans spent at the mentioned clubs helped Frattesi a lot in becoming a more mature player and a reliable midfielder.
Thanks to his excellent sense of positioning inside the final third and during set-pieces, as well as his developed goalscoring abilities from these positions, Frattesi is becoming very important to Inzaghi’s Nerazzurri and has already scored numerous vital goals for his team.
His penetrations inside the box, with and especially without the ball, have usually been effective.
He times them well and often finds the perfect moment to aim at shooting after receiving key passes.
This “Lampard-like” style of play, especially regarding finishing inside the box after coming from behind, is serving Frattesi and Inter Milan well and will continue making Frattesi a pivotal player in the team and for the Italian national team.
The following pizza graphic further confirms the player’s exceptional goal contribution rates and shots per 90.
Davide Frattesi Radar Map
That being said, working on crucial passing a bit further would make Frattesi an even more dangerous midfielder.
Conclusion
Yacine Adli, Teun Koopmeiners, Scott McTominay, Youssouf Fofana, and Davide Frattesi are all expected to make significant contributions to their respective teams this season.
They are becoming very consistent in terms of performance and have the potential needed to have an excellent season.
Nevertheless, consistency and the ability to avoid nasty injuries will determine who will remain impactful and who will fail to be critical throughout the season.
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