The very last move of the winter transfer window for AC Milan was the signing of Riccardo Sottil, and given the other additions he may go more under the radar.
As MilanNews report and as Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s words yesterday confirmed, the Sottil operation was closed a minute and a half before the deadline, but just why did the Rossoneri management insist right until the end?
When thinking of Riccardo many Italian football fans who are perhaps a bit older think of Andrea Sottil, his father who is a former Serie A defender and now a good level coach. However, his son is making a name for himself and the purchase by Milan proves it.
The 1999-born forward was at Genoa and Torino until he was 16 before moving to the Fiorentina youth sector where he matured as a footballer and where he was considered a great talent in Italian football.
After a six-month loan to Pescara and a first season with La Viola, he made his first leap in quality during a season with Cagliari. At 21 years old he scored four goals and added two assists in 24 games in Serie A.
Cagliari used their option to buy him but his performance levels meant that Fiorentina used their buy-back to keep control. Now, though, he leaves La Viola after four and a half seasons with 138 appearances and 15 goals to his name.
His technical characteristics are quite defined: Sottil is a very quick right-footer who plays on the left and loves dribbling. These peculiarities make him similar in terms of type of footballer to Rafael Leao, of whom he arrives at Milan, on paper, to be the deputy to.
In terms of attitude, he is very much appreciated for his competitive spirit which sometimes takes him a little beyond the limits, even with his teammates: on the second day of the 2022 summer retreat in Moena with Fiorentina he argued with Nico Gonzalez.
However, everything remains on the pitch, as he himself had specified: “Competitiveness exists in all football teams, these things have happened since football was invented, many more will happen: these are normal things when there is competitiveness.”
The real Achilles heel, in contrast to what has been seen at youth level, is his lack of goals as a winger. He often manages to create dangerous situations but is not able to finish. The only 20 goals in 174 professional games are a very clear fact, but this season he has already struck five times.
Certainly, moving from the out-of-form Okafor seen this year to a lively and willing player like Sottil could be positive on paper for Sergio Conceicao. Injuries could also be a red flag: 12 in the last five seasons, none this year. From 2020-21 to today he has missed a total of 68 games.
