Manuel Locatelli’s sensational form for club and country is set to alert many top clubs around Europe for the midfielder this summer. The Sassuolo midfielder’s stock continues to rise after a double against Switzerland.
In 2016 when Manuel Locatelli was promoted from the youth team at AC Milan, the midfielder seemed to be a player with maturity beyond his years. His double in the win against Sassuolo and Juventus was of a particular highlight at the time.
Manuel Locatelli in Sensational Form for Club and Country
Locatelli Stock Continues to Rise
due to his ability to create chances or dictate the tempo of his team’s play in midfield with his passing range, Locatelli is primarily deployed as a deep-lying playmaker in a position similar to that of Andrea Pirlo. Although he is not particularly quick, his techniques, defensive work rate, and ball-winning abilities make him a standout footballer.
Sassuolo
Locatelli was sent on loan to Sassuolo after the 2017/2018 season and it is where he has now established himself as one of the best players in Serie A.
In the 2020/2021 season, Locatelli played in 34 Serie A games for the Neroverdi. He accumulated a total of 2883 minutes, registering four goals and a couple of assists.
The elegant midfielder attempted 84.75 passes per 90mins with an impressive 87.9% completion rate. He put on a very good defensive shift as he finished the season averaging 2.66 tackles and 1.97 clearances per 90mins.
His most astounding statistic of the season was the 7.58 progressive passes per 90 minutes he completed. A feat that was better than 98% of the other midfielders in the league.
Euro 2020 with Italy
In the absence of Marco Veratti, Locatelli has unsurprisingly featured in both of Italy’s games against Turkey and Switzerland, and he did not disappoint. He played a very good 72 minutes against Turkey and earned a match rating of 7.02.
His display against Switzerland was even more eventful as he scored a brace to solidify Italy’s position at the top of Group A. He started a move with a fabulous pass for his first goal and finished it with a tap in. He collected possession on the edge of the box for his second before rifling a left-footed strike into the bottom right corner. The Sassuolo man also misplaced just four out of 51 attempted passes.
Manuel Locatelli is becoming more popular nowadays. His spectacular performances are hard to overlook. He is young and can only get better with time.
He is already a subject of intense transfer speculations. The likes of Barcelona, Arsenal and Juventus amongst others, have shown interest in the Italian. At this point. It is reasonable to believe that Locatelli’s Sassuolo days might be numbered.
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