One of Europe’s most talented and highly acclaimed young prospects. Roma’s Nicolo Zaniolo is a player sure to be lighting up TV screens in the coming future.
After a horrendous ACL injury against Juventus in January, the coronavirus pandemic and the suspension of the Serie A meant that Zaniolo was afforded enough time to ramp up his recovery and fitness before the season resumed, and that he has achieved, featuring in six of Roma’s ten games since Serie A’s resumption in May.
Zaniolo’s injury certainly hasn’t derailed his impressive progress, scoring an extraordinary solo effort in Roma’s 6-1 rout away to Spal. He also netted a stunning goal against Brescia in a 3-0 win highlighting his tremendous qualities and knack for the spectacular strike.
He then followed that up with a fantastic assist in the 3-1 away win over Juventus on the last Serie A game of the campaign, marauding past a few players before teeing up Diego Perotti to notch his second goal and Roma’s third. Unerring.
Now, reports are circulating regarding his immediate future at the Stadio Olimpico with Tottenham and Inter Milan reportedly interested in his services, as per The Guardian Newspaper.
But how has Zaniolo rose to prominence, and what could the future hold for such a unique talent?
Who is Nicolo Zaniolo?
Born in Massa, Tuscany, Nicolo Zaniolo grew up in the Fiorentina youth system, but was released by the club in January 2016, and subsequently joined Virtus Entella.
After several months of plying his trade for the Entella Primavera side, Zaniolo was given his first professional Serie B debut in March 2017, aged 17 in a 3-2 win over Benevento. In total, he featured in seven outings for the Biancocelesti in the 2016–17 season.
In July 2017, Zaniolo was snapped up by Inter Milan for a reported fee of €1.8 million, plus €1.7 million in bonuses. He played for the Inter youth side and finished the 2017/18 campaign top scorer within the team with 13 goals and aided the side in winning the Campionato Nazionale Primavera.
The following season, he featured for the club in a preseason friendly but never made his competitive debut for Inter first team. However, in June 2018, he was part of a exchange deal which saw Zaniolo move to Roma along with Davide Santon for Radja Nainggolan who moved to the San Siro.
Zaniolo completed his medical and signed a five-year-deal for a fee of €4.5 million plus a 15% resell revenue. The Italian wonderkid made his first appearance for the Giallorossi against Real Madrid in his UEFA Champions League debut in September 2018, a game which saw Roma lose 3-0. Zaniolo then went on to make his maiden Serie A appearance the same month in a 4-0 home win over Frosinone.
His first goal came in December 2018, in a 3-1 win over Sassuolo. The following year, during a Champions League match with FC Porto, Zaniolo became the youngest Italian player to score twice in a single match in the competition, scoring both goals in 2-1 triumph.
Nicolo Zaniolo has gone on to feature five times for his country scoring twice, and has also established himself as a key component in Paulo Fonseca’s side as a bright young attacking midfielder. He has received much acclaim through his performances and extraordinary abilities, even being earmarked as a future global star both at club and international level.
But why?
Nicolo Zaniolo’s style of play?
Since his return from injury, Nicolo Zaniolo has already provided timely reminders of his tremendous abilities both on the ball and without it. His goals post-lockdown, against Brescia and SPAL were both something of the spectacular and that is Zaniolo in a nutshell.
The Italian midfielder is a player who always looks to excite, to get fans off seats and showcase his class and talents. Nicolo Zaniolo isn’t your average attacking midfielder, and his role in Paulo Fonseca’s side highlights just that.
First, lets take a look at his contributions this season, giving us a basic overarching idea of his effectiveness and influence within Roma’s fluid system {Footballslices}
Throughout the season, Fonseca has generally lined up in a number of systems to get the best out of his players, the last few matches, he’s lined up in a 3-4-3 shape to give Roma some security and solidarity mixed with some flexibility and fluidity in attack.
Both Lorenzo Pellegrini and Henrikh Mkhitaryan may line up as wingers, but in fact they are given the license to roam within the half-spaces and in between the lines behind Dzeko to add much creativity, fluidity and freedom of movement.
The width is provided by Spinazzola and Bruno Peres. When Zaniolo has been called upon, he has fulfilled similar roles to Pellegrini and Mkhitaryan becoming the sides main source of creativity and invention in the final third.
Though, for much of the season, pre-lockdown, Fonseca lined up in a traditional 4-2-3-1 shape, with Zaniolo lining up wide right. Wingers are always instructed to add width and stretch the opponents but Zaniolo is tasked differently. He is asked to drift inside, due to his strong left-foot and incredible influence in between the lines.
He’s allowed the freedom to cut in or pick unorthodox pockets of space and either drive with the ball, go for the spectacular or thread through balls to his fellow forwards. From time to time, Zaniolo and Pellegrini will often exchange positions to shift the dynamics of attacks and confuse the opposition defence, as is also the case within the 3-4-3 shape.
When Zaniolo is tasked with sitting wide, he is a ball-progressing regularly carrying the ball forwards to instigate attacks. His main role is to advance Roma’s attacks deep into the opponent’s defensive half.
Zaniolo has averaged 3.86 dribbles with a success rate of just 68.1% this season, highlighting his effectiveness when driving with the ball. He attempts 1.8 shots per game in Serie A, he’s not afraid to try the audacious shot and more often than not, he pulls it off as shown in his goal against Brescia, after driving with the ball, he then sets himself to unleash a rocket into the back of the net.
As mentioned, Zaniolo’s main duties involve him progressing the ball into the final third. He acts as Roma’s sole ball-carrier, attempting to link the midfield and attack. Once he receives the ball on the half-turn, he regularly jets off on the offence. He averages 5.1 progressive yards per carries per 90 minutes. The single best attribute of his game is his dribbling. He attempts 5.45 dribbles with 3.86 of them completed per 90.
Zaniolo is simply incredible at controlling the ball with his feet and ensuring the ball stays close to his quick and nimble feet. Combine this with his agility, and you can see why he doesn’t struggle to emerge from tight spaces, even when surrounded by multiple defenders.
Zaniolo’s 1v1 dribbling skills are incredibly efficient due to his excellent close control, agility, balance and speed. No matter how many obstacles in his way, he’s more than likely to find a way through. Often great dribblers possess the quality of drawing plenty of fouls. Zaniolo is no different. There are various instances where a defender thinks he has the opening to reach the ball and win it back via a tackle but Zaniolo puts himself in between the defender and the ball.
He might not look very strong, but he’s surprisingly able to hold off his own against defenders and win free-kicks in key positions for his team. However, one weak point in his game is that he tends to over-dribble meaning he may get stuck on the ball, or miss the opportunity to find a teammate in a more dangerous position to score. Zaniolo needs to learn when the release the ball at the right time which could rapidly improve his creative numbers.
When talking about the great dribblers like Messi, Hazard, Neymar or even Riyad Mahrez, one of the things we often overlook is their knowledge of knowing when to continue dribbling and when to stop and pass. Zaniolo has the raw skill set which can help him be an elite ball-carrier in the future, but becoming better at balancing his actions on the ball is important for his development.
Forecast for the Future?
Nicolo Zaniolo is indeed one of the most prestigious young midfielders around. Since his injury return, he’s already provided a reminder of just how good he is and how good he is yet to be. It’s no surprises that top clubs are still keeping tabs on his services despite his injury in January.
The Italian is on his way to becoming a global star, but he must choose his next step wisely, in order to fulfil his remarkable potential. Tottenham are reportedly interested in taking the wonderkid to North London, and could represent the kind of high quality talent the club needs to get the injection and push they need to challenge Europe’s elite.
Tottenham have proven stale since their Champions League antics in 2019, and much improvement is needed under Mourinho, who knows, maybe Zaniolo is the type of talent they need to embark on a stark resurgence both domestically and in Europe.
A move to a European giant may well be on the cards soon for him. There’s not much to argue about, this kid is good. How his career pans out remains to be seen. But one thing is for sure, the future is looking bright for the 21-year-old from Tuscany.
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