As a young 16-year-old Olimpiu Morutan appeared on the football scene with Romanian second-tier club Universitatea Cluj and just needed six appearances to convince first-tier team FC Botosani to offer him a senior contract.
In July 2018, Steaua Bucuresti initiated a €700Th. transfer plan for the player. The then 18-year-old midfielder had already shown glimpses of his talent but since moving to the capital club, he has displayed what he is truly capable of – developing with each passing season.
Morutan is an exciting playmaker who usually plays centrally behind the main striker or on the right wing as an inverted winger. The FCSB No.11 is a team player who enjoys taking part in passing play and excels in both possession and counter-attacking teams, mainly due to his flexibility to adapt himself to the tempo of the game.
His versatility has allowed the club to utilize him as both a left and right winger, but he undoubtedly does better when on the right wing with his inverted style of play.
He has a strong left-foot that can be very useful in set-piece situations because of his finesse shots, especially in free-kick situations around the 18-yard-box. His first touch is remarkable as he has the ability to take out one or even two opponents with just a single touch. And equally impressive is his one-touch passing as he prefers to play one-two football with his teammates.
He is the kind of player who prefers luring in defenders and then exploiting the space left ahead of him, either with his pace and acceleration or by sending in an accurate pass to his teammates. He likes to dictate the tempo of a game just as a deep-lying central midfielder would, but nevertheless his attacking prowess poses him to effectively make a difference in the final-third.
He has been called by the legendary Dan Petrescu as Romania’s future No.10 – a great compliment for an electric winger, which just shows how versatile he is.
His contract at Bucharest will end at the end of the 2022-23 season, before which the club will look to cash in on him rather than send him away as a free transfer. Inter are one such club who look likely to lure him away to the Giuseppe Meazza. Galatasaray, Porto, Bayer Leverkusen and Hoffenheim are also said to be in the race to get his signature.
His agent Florin Vulturar has confirmed in recent weeks that talks are taking place to transfer the youngster, with Italy as a very possible destination.
Whatever his next move might be, he looks likely to have a bright future and can be a valuable attacking force in any league he steps into. Morutan is a promising player.