Having been touted as “the Italian Ibrahimovic” by the local media, Gianluca Scamacca has started his career in the Serie A with high expectations. He was initially discovered by Lazio scouts as a promising forward but accelerated his development with his stints at Roma and PSV Eindhoven’s youth systems. He spent three years at Roma and then two at Eindhoven.
His productive time at the two clubs convinced Sassuolo to bring him back to Italy in 2017 for €500,000. Since moving back, he spent one season with the Sassuolo U-19 team, where he led the Primavera team to Viareggio Cup glory against Empoli in 2017 with the winning goals. After being promoted to the senior squad, he has now been constantly loaned out to a host of clubs in and outside Italy.
Now on-loan at Genoa, Scamacca has seen his value rise, as one of Italy’s most promising and upcoming youth products. With Francesco Caputo and his understudy Giacomo Raspadori taking charge of the Neroverdi frontline, the current Grifone’s No.9 has all the makings of a stable and consistent hitman for years to come and he’s only getting started.
Capable of operating with hazardous accuracy in the final-third, Scamacca has the ability to become one of Europe’s most accurate and prolific strikers. The 6’3” forward’s comparison with Milan veteran Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not for nothing – he possesses similar technical and tactical ability as the Swede. Not to mention Scamacca’s acrobatic ability and threat from aerial duels. The youngster’s heading ability is also one of the best in the league.
Apart from the comparisons, he has a strong identity of his own as an effective forward player who can link-up efficiently with his partners around him. One of Scamacca’s greatest strengths is his natural ability to drop deeper in midfield and assist him teammates.
He is extremely adept in holding up play, especially during counterattacks, and spraying passes upfront. His movement between the channels in midfield and all the way up to the final-third allows his to function in a versatile manner.
Coming to his position on-field, Scamacca plays as a typical No.9 who prefers to feed of the creativity of the players behind him. He has also been used as a second-striker. Finishing, striking instinct and team play and some of the youngster’s best characteristics. Mentally, the 22-year-old is mature enough to face experienced defenders without losing hunger and yearning for goals.
He can function as a sole striker in 4-5-1 or 4-3-3 formations and also as a strike partner in a standard 4-4-2. He can also play as a winger, but that is not his most effective position.
Physically, Scamacca is a strong athlete with a fantastic physique for someone his age. As a natural fit for Serie A’s physicality, he is conditioned to hold off challenges and can shrug of incoming tackles with his energetic sense of play. He has great aerial strength thanks to his powerful and imposing physique, which makes him a great indirect set-piece threat.
He is someone who had 30 appearances for the Italy youth national team only at 17 years of age – that speaks a lot for his abilities and skills at the top level. So far, Scamacca has appeared regularly from the U-15 to U-21 youth teams without fail, but he is yet to make a senior debut for Italy. In light of his recent development, the day is not far off when he steps into the Azzurri colors.
Scamacca has been constantly scouted by Milan as the Rossoneri are on the lookout for a consistent goalscorer after an underwhelming finish to the season, losing the Scudetto to city-rivals Inter. Turin giants Juventus are another top contender to lure Scamacca away.