The Serie A has witnessed four different champions in the last five seasons. This has been one of the most exciting leagues in the world. Several players have joined the Italian top division. The Italian clubs have their own legacies in Europe. The likes of AC Milan, Juventus and Inter Milan have tasted European glory. Atalanta became the latest club to win a continental cup. They won the UEFA Europa League 2023-24. This boosted the club greatly as they qualified for the UEFA Champions League.
A UCL berth helps the club to attract some good players. Atalanta decided to strengthen their attack by investing in Mateo Retegui. The Italian national player came to Serie A in the 2023-24 season. He joined Genoa from the Argentinian club, Tigre. Retegui had represented Argentina U20 and was eligible to play for Italy. Roberto Mancini gave him his national team debut.
Mateo Retegui enjoyed a decent debut season in Italy. He scored seven goals in 29 Serie A games for Genoa. The 25-year-old carried a lot of threat, especially around the six-yard box. His xG rate per shot was also on the higher side. Retegui scored all the goals from a close range.
Atalanta are an attacking side and decided to invest around €28m on the forward. Retegui has started the season well for his new club. Here is why he could win the Golden Boot award this season.
Big presence in the box
Matteo Retegui is a proper No. 9. He is not a very tall player but is a perfect target man. The Italian averages more than 10 touches inside the penalty box per 90 minutes. This is a big positive for a side playing regular European football.
The 25-year-old has scored four goals in the league. With an accuracy rate of over 50%, Retegui has scored all the goals from a similar position. He finds space inside the box and converts opportunities. Once again, the xG per shot was on the higher side.
Mateo Retegui can link up plays with his teammates. His passes are short but attempted towards both sides of the field. This shows that he likes to make use of the final third. Retegui is also quick with the distribution. He often makes runs to the box after making a pass.
Aerial threat
The 25-year-old is a menace in the air. He scored a great header against Fiorentina. Mateo Retegui did well to maintain the distance between the two defenders. He never allowed the defender to get tight on him. The cross was perfect and had the right pace. Retegui placed his header nicely to score a goal.
This aerial threat can also be handy in set-piece situations. Retegui gets into good positions. In this clip, he won the header around the near post and flicked it towards the centre. These could lead to a goal-scoring chance on corners.
Atalanta fans will be happy with their new forward. He missed a penalty against Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League and failed to win the game. Retegui will aim to score his first European goal and take his team to the next stage. His focus will be on scoring more league goals and win the Golden Boot.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine