Riccardo Sottil insight: Scouting report, stats, transfer rating and more

SempreMilan

·10 de fevereiro de 2025

Riccardo Sottil insight: Scouting report, stats, transfer rating and more

Riccardo Sottil’s arrival came out of nowhere on deadline day, but it can definitely be argued that AC Milan have upgraded their squad as a result of the move.

Rafael Leao was sought by Saudi Arabia again in the last few days of the mercato, whilst Samuel Chukwueze was reportedly a Premier League target. This interest comes alongside the actual departure of Noah Okafor.

Vídeos OneFootball

So whilst Leao and Chukwueze stayed, Milan wanted to further strengthen their depth on the flanks, and with Sottil arriving on loan (with an option to buy) they have done this. In addition to this, he also provides valuable squad registration aid, something which can only be seen as a positive.

Sottil’s first cameo came in the Coppa Italia against Roma, but we didn’t really see much, if anything, of the winger. So, let’s take a look into what we can hopefully see more of in the future.

Background

Riccardo Sottil was born in Torino on 3 June 1999, but it was Genoa’s academy that he first joined in 2012 at the age of 13 after playing for local sides. He would play there for just one season in the end before heading for Torino, where he remained until 2016.

Sottil joined the Fiorentina youth sector in 2016 and was rather quickly added to first team during the 2017-18 season. He made his Serie A debut on 19 September 2018, at the age of 19, in a match against Sampdoria which ended 1-1.

In January 2019 he went on loan to Pescara in Serie B for some more playing time and he made 10 league appearances for them, scoring his first professional goal on 27 April 2019 in a draw against Verona.

After his experience with Pescara, he returned to La Viola and on 22 January 2020, he extended his contract until 2024. Sottil concluded that season with a total of 21 appearances in all competitions, without managing to score.

Then, in September 2020, he was loaned to Cagliari with an option to buy and a buy-back in favour of Fiorentina, scoring his first goal for the Sardinians in a 4-2 victory over Crotone that October. After scoring a couple of goals Cagliari bought him, but the buy-back clause was activated.

In the 2021-22 season , the new Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Italiano decides to use him a bit more and he started 14 times in the league. On 21 September 2021 he scored his first goal for La Viola in a defeat to Inter.

He closed that season with 29 appearances across Serie A and the Coppa Italia scoring a total of four goals, even earning a call-up from the Italian national team coach Roberto Mancini for the preliminary squad at the end of the campaign.

Strengths and weaknesses

Sottil arrives largely as depth for Leao as an almost direct replacement for Okafor, and this is what will be vital to remember here. Milan have not recruited the Fiorentina man to displace the Portuguese, instead, he can be an option from the bench, or even a rotational option when the star needs time.

That being said, Sottil definitely has the qualities to push on from this already ‘predetermined’ role and be something more for the Rossoneri. Leao has seen some central game time this season, so if the Italian performs well, perhaps this move into a more central zone could be supported.

The biggest reason that Leao’s centrality could be enforced is because the two can co-exist. Wingers can often be defined in two ways – byline wingers and goalscoring wingers (normally inverted).

Leao fits more in the latter bracket, as he looks to drive into the box on a very regular basis and a lot of his touches come inside the box, or right on the edge of it. For Sottil though, it is very much a different story – his focus is very much on the wide(r) areas.

Sottil Heat Map / Sofascore

Leao Heat Map / Sofascore

Statistically, the winger is very far away from Leao, and this can be said in almost every meaning of the word. In terms of appearances, the 25-year-old does not come close to Leao’s regularity, and this also goes for goals and assists.

With just fourteen contributions in the past four seasons, there will certainly be questions about how much value he can add to Sergio Conceicao’s squad. However, this is where we dive into the big aspects of this move.

As we know, the Portuguese coach is not of the tiki-taka school of thought, in fact, he is probably as far away from that as you can possibly get. For him, there are two goals, stop them at one end, create them at the other.

One of the big aspects of this then, and why he opposes tiki-taka is how direct his football is. The former is very much a horizontal style of play, whereas Conceicao loves vertical football, especially when done quickly, and this is where Sottil comes in.

A brief look at his Fbref page may initially cause doubt. However, we can look at two key stats. Firstly, the Italian receives around 10 progressive passes per game, which is among the higher numbers for wingers across Europe.

Then, we also can take in the fact that he is in the 96th percentile for progressive carries, making 6.4 per game, which is a fantastic amount for a direct style of play like Conceicao’s.

Using the attacking graphs provided by Sofascore, we can see how much the Rossoneri focus on the wings, especially on the left, so not only can Sottil do a job as a starter, potentially allowing Leao to transition into a more central player. But also he can affect the game from the bench, considering he would be playing against a side which has, hypothetically, been targeted more.

Attack Map Roma

Statistical comparison

Referring back to the winger’s Fbref page, the site suggests that he is statistically close to Pedro Neto and Nico Williams, though the biggest reason for this is their progressive numbers. However, these comparisons suggest one thing, especially with the latter.

Williams is one of the most exciting ball carriers in football currently, and Neto has shown signs of similar at his best, and they both relate to Sottil in another way too. In addition to this, there is a drop-off in Sottil’s numbers, but neither winger is the most contribution-driven, so again this can be used as another benefit of Sottil’s.

Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

Another player to compare with is Porto’s Pepe, who was apparently a favourite of Conceicao in Portugal.

Using Sofascore, we can see that despite starting less than half of the games that Pepe did, the winger only made four fewer big chances across the season than his opposite, even whilst making less than half of the amount of key passes per 90.

Perhaps suggesting that he is more of a quality than quantity player, which is something that could potentially benefit the Rossoneri going forward. It has often been criticised how the side sometimes just pump balls into the box, even if they are not working, so a more calculated approach could also prove significant.

To flip this point too, we know that the Diavolo create chances, it is more about the finishing of them. However, they can also create more by getting into the danger areas more efficiently, and Sottil can be key to this, as already stated with his direct runs.

We can also use this to look at the types of goals scored by the Rossoneri.

In Serie A this season, Milan have scored 35 goals, the second least amount in the top 10, and of these goals, only Udinese and Fiorentina have scored fewer from open play, using stats from Whoscored, so having someone with the drive of Sottil can be of assistance here.

Using the same stats, we can see that six goals have been scored from counter-attacks, which is another area in which the Diavolo can be aided by Sottil’s frankly superb progressive numbers.

Furthermore, he is the most fouled player across the top five European leagues, including the Champions League and Europa League, so we can also take positives from this, and how he can aid the team in this area.

Conclusion

It can definitely be suggested that this is the Rossoneri’s ‘weakest’ move of the window, but by no means does that make this a bad transfer. Sottil is a depth player, and with Okafor gone, he can provide valuable aid to Milan’s attack.

He is definitely more of a ‘traditional’ winger, and if Conceicao can add more danger to his game, he has the marks to be a fantastic player, considering he already does the ‘harder’ things. Now it is just a case of adding technique.

The loan fee is reportedly not too high, so there is minimal risk to this move, and with a €10m buy clause, there is potential with this move, especially considering he is at a perfect age for the club to mould at 25.

Transfer rating: 7/10