Manuel Locatelli
Country: Italy
Date of birth: 08/01/1998 (17 years old)
Place of birth: Lecco (Italy)
Height: 183cm
Youth career: AC Milan
Current club: AC Milan
Squad number: —
Current national team: Italy U-19
Position: defensive midfielder, central midfielder
Preferred foot: right
Market value (by transfermarkt.de): 150.000 €
Tournaments participated in: 2015 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualification elite round (2/0), 2015 UEFA European Under-17 Championship (5/0)
Contract until: 30.06.2018
Player’s agent: unknown
Similar type of player: Riccardo Montolivo
Strengths:
– passing 
– vision
– tactical intelligence
– composure
– teamwork 
– ability to read the game 
– concentration
– creativity
– technique 
Weaknesses:
– physical strength
Style of play:
– deep-lying playmaker/regista
– likes to play long balls
– likes to orchestrate play with his passing and creativity
– calm and level headed
– dictates the tempo of the game
– very good in combination play
– exceptional precision when passing and crossing
– outstanding vision and extremely accurate long-range passing ability
– often drops deep and is involved in the buildup of plays
– likes to hold on to the ball and assess passing options on the move
– excellent positional sense and an acute tactical ability to read the game
– good vision and comfort on the ball
– high number of touches and passes per game
– finds himself best in positional attack
He is best suited to playing as:
Central midfielder in 4-4-2.
Video:
Achievements:
—
League summary:
No senior team appearances yet.
Description:
Manuel Locatelli is a product of AC Milan youth academy. He is one of the biggest talents of a very strong generation of Milan players born in 1998 which includes, among others, Patrick Cutrone, Andres Llamas, Mattia El Hilali and Zakaria Hamadi. He has been a star of the youth teams for a few years. This season, he was called for the first time to join the first squad and sat on the bench during the Serie A game against Udinese. It is almost certain that he will make his senior debut for the “Rossoneri” very soon. He has been a youth Italy international for many years – starting at U-15 all the way through U-19. He played at the UEFA European Under-17 Championship 2015 in Bulgaria, but despite having a very strong team, young “Squadra Azzurra” were knocked out at the quarter final stage after a 3-0 defeat against eventual champions France.
Quotes:
“To say that Milan’s head of youth team scouting, Mauro Bianchessi, thinks highly of Manuel Locatelli would be understating it. ‘He can be the next captain of Milan,’ said Bianchessi. ‘He’s a bit [Andrea] Pirlo and a bit [Riccardo] Montolivo.’ Cooler heads would point out that the teenager has not yet cracked the first team, but it is true that a good many people at Milanello expect him to do so with time. Equipped with an impressive range of passing, he can dictate the tempo of a game from his preferred position as a deep-lying regista.”
(theguardian.com)
Football Talent Scout potential rating:
9/10 
Player has potential to become a key player in a top European club.
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