Matias Soulé’s next club will be Roma if the Giallorossi and Juventus can come to an agreement, and Wayne Girard believes this is the exact profile to take the Giallorossi to the next level.
His transfer to Leicester City looked almost done, but Matias Soulé reflected on the idea of moving to England and must have become overjoyed when Roma came in looking for a young, creative attacker. While the Giallorossi had first set their sights on his Juventus teammate and leader of the Azzurri, Federico Chiesa, the winger’s stalling has surely pushed Florent Ghisolfi towards players who showed more passion in moving to Caput Mundi.
A deal has reportedly been found between the club and the player, but Roma’s €25m bid is still not enough to persuade the Bianconeri even if Juventus are still open to selling as they are in need of that cash to fund Teun Koopmeiners and/or Albert Guðmundsson. If La Lupa is somehow able to manage to get this one over the line, Soulé is a player who could take them out of the ‘provincial’ category once and for all and push them through the glass ceiling into a big club that fights for all the titles.
Rumours abound regarding Paulo Dybala’s future with Daniele De Rossi, and many Romanisti have been concerned that the acquisition of Soulé all but guarantees his countryman’s departure from Rome. However, given the coach’s plans for La Joya, that may not be the case. In fact, the two may very well be interchanging down the pitch as they tango towards goal.
Let’s take a look at Soulé’s season of growth at Frosinone, which is just about an hour’s south of Rome and shares the same region in Lazio. Over these last 11 months, Soulé morphed from a Juventus loanee prospect, into one of the most dynamic attackers in the league with 11 goals and three assists, to make up 25% of the Canarini’s goals.
He had top honours leading the league with 82 chances created, as well as the under-21 category in Europe with 84 key passes, and the second most successful dribbles (102) – just two behind the Brazilian Sávio in La Liga.
Soulé has not just the courage to take players one-on-one, but thrives on the opportunity. He’s able to occupy two or even three players at a time, and use sublime street skills to evade his opponents. This draws them out of position, ultimately creating new spaces for his teammates and simplifies passing angles off of his boot.
There’s a few ways De Rossi can utilise Soulé, and the first would be if Dybala is played as a false nine, with the young winger pushed to the right. This could be used in certain scenarios where Roma are able to hold a high line and need a great deal of interchanging in order to break down a low block.
Secondly, if the Roman tactician moves to a 4-2-3-1 formation, Dybala could be deployed behind the centre-forward, with Soulé once again on the wing, but creating a super-powered trident capable of taking down any European giant.
Thirdly, De Rossi plays a 4-3-3 and has Soulé on the left with Dybala on the opposite flank. Although Soulé played exclusively in the centre or right side this past season, he could surely fill a shift there in a more direct way down the flank rather than as an inverted winger. It would be a shame to use him this way though when considering his best attributes are taking players on and cutting in on his left foot.
If Soulé ditches England for a sunny Vespa ride in Rome, he won’t regret it. If De Rossi and management are able to secure him, they’ll have one of the most exciting young players in football, who is still developing his game and playing without fear. With Dybala (and Leandro Paredes) to show him the ropes, Soulé could become the next big thing in Rome.