The 4th Official
·20 May 2020
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Yahoo sportsThe 4th Official
·20 May 2020
According to a recent report by Italian publication CalcioMercato, Premier League giants Everton are being linked with a potential summer move for the services of Fiorentina’s midfield magician Gaetano Castrovilli. The report suggests that Carlo Ancelotti is keen on the dribbler and that he’s being watched closely by the likes of Juventus and Inter Milan as well. Despite this though, it has been claimed that Fiorentina aren’t overly interested in selling him this summer.
Born in the quaint Italian town of Canosa, Castrovilli began his youth career with Bari, before eventually making the switch to the Fiorentina academy back in the summer of 2017. Having arrived for a reasonable fee, the midfielder was almost immediately shipped out on loan for a couple of seasons, at lower league side Cremonese. Upon his return last summer, the Italian had developed into quite the player, and he’s even carved out a place for himself in La Viola’s first-team this season.
Despite being just 23-years-old, the Italian has displayed his general quality on multiple instances this season, and he’s featured in an impressive 24 league games along the way as well. Although his record of three goals and two assists might not look great on paper, it’s worth considering that the midfielder imparts most of his influence during the side’s build-up play.
The trickster has been a consistent figure in Italian football for the last few seasons, having notched up more 150 appearances over his stints across the various levels.
The 23-year-old is undoubtedly at his best when deployed as one out of a double midfield pivot, and would hence be well-suited to Ancelotti’s system at the Goodison. The Merseyside club tend to operate in that role with one defensive-minded midfielder and another who looks to find avenues in the opposite direction. Castrovilli fits the latter position perfectly, as he’s even got some strong defensive attributes to his game too.
Capable of getting past players with his quick feet and trickery, the Fiorentina man also has a keen eye for a forward pass. Adept at threading the ball in between defensive lines while also singlehandedly driving the team forward, Castrovilli can be described as the quintessential Italian midfielder. As good as his dribbling is, it’s worth considering that the Italian times his runs into space from midfield quite well, while he also boasts a fairly strong strike with the right foot.
Central midfield isn’t necessarily one of Ancelotti’s positions of concern at this moment, owing largely to the presence of names like Andre Gomes, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Tom Davies in the side. With that said though, none of the aforementioned names offer quite the same kind of skill-set as Castrovilli. The Fiorentina man has the potential to become the sheer driving force of this Toffees side next season, and Ancelotti will do well to beat the likes of Juventus and Inter to the trickster’s signature.