Matteo Politano is one of those footballers that just seem to get better with age.

The more experience the forward gets, the better he gets.

As a youngster he was sent out on loan to Lega Pro side Perugia and he looked good in the Italian lower leagues. Matteo was then signed up by Pescara and he was introduced into their first team and again he met the challenge head on.

After two solid seasons in Serie B with Pescara, the attacker was snapped up by Sassuolo and was asked to test himself in Serie A. Once again Politano managed to rise to the challenge and he was able to perform in Italy’s top flight.

One thing the forward has always been able to do is find the back of the net. In his first two seasons with I Neroverdi, Matteo grabbed five goals in each season. Last term he smashed in ten league strikes.

His Serie A performances showed that he has a vast amount of potential and teams like Napoli, Tottenham Hotspur and Juventus were linked with his signature. In fact, Napoli agreed a deal in January but couldn’t conclude the move before the transfer window closed.

In the summer, it was Inter Milan that decided to move and bring in the twenty-five year old. It was his chance to make another step up and see if he can produce the goods for a top side.

Matteo Politano has started off well at the San Siro.

In his first seven league appearances for the club, he’s scored one and helped create two assists for teammates. His goal over Cagliari was majestic; it bounced up inside the penalty area and the Italian met the half volley with his left foot perfectly and it proved to be unstoppable.

Now it’s great that Politano has a keen eye for goal, he’s scored twenty-one times in 102 top flight appearances. But he’s also direct when he’s on the ball, he’s got the tricks to beat opponents and is very versatile; it’s not unusual to see the attacking midfielder starting on the right wing, then moving across to the opposite flank and then you’ll see him get the ball in central positions.

Matteo also has a good knack of hitting teammates with his crossing ability, which makes him good for taking free-kicks from wide positions. You can see evidence of that below, in Stefan de Vrij’s goal against Torino.

The twenty-five year old isn’t the finished article yet. He seems quite grounded and after the win over Cagliari he was quick to say that he needs to start games better:

“At the beginning I started badly but managed to recover. I have to improve a lot, I lost the ball a lot and I must not make as many mistakes therefore I have to work. Lautaro Martinez can help me but whoever plays can help me to improve on the pitch too.”

His willingness to see his own faults and improve upon them are actually a good thing as long as he does improve. I’d suggest that former Sassuolo man needs to also get better passing stats, he does lose the ball too much at times, and he could do with working on his defensive contribution as he’ll need to be better defensively in the bigger games both domestically and in the Champions League.

But as Matteo Politano has shown in the past, he’s a constant work in progress and he eagerly meets every challenge head on. He reminds me a bit of Liverpool’s Andrew Robertson in that regard.

His performances have been enough to catch the eye of Azzurri boss Roberto Mancini, making his debut for Italy against Saudi Arabia in May.

If Politano can continue and improve as each game passes, then I Nerazzurri (who have an option to turn his loan into a permanent move for just €20m next summer) will have a bargain and a gem on their hands!

Posted on September 30th, 2018 by scott
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