Scouting: Samuele Ricci
A Italian tempo-setter midfielder carving his way up Italian sides.
Arguably Torino’s best player at Serie A 24/25, Samuele Ricci recently renewed his contract at the club, anticipating a big move in the summer (just like Brazilian CB Bremer, who made the same move before going to Juventus). Linked to clubs like Milan, Liverpool and Manchester City, we might see him playing for a different club in six months time.
History
A regular name on Italy youth sides (from the U17 all the way to the U21), Ricci has been playing professional football for quite some time now, considering he’s still 23 years old. In 19/20, at just 19, he was an occasional starter for Empoli at Serie B — they missed promotion via playoffs that season, but rebounded as league champions next year. In 21/22, Ricci proved his worth as a first division player and then got snatched by Torino in January, after only 21 Serie A games. Since then, he’s been one of the first names in the team sheet and even got called up by Roberto Mancini to debut for Italy’s main squad in 2022. He also made the provisional list for Italy at the 2024 EURO, but got cut out by Luciano Spalletti in the end.
Roles and positions
Paolo Vanoli’s 3-5-2 preferred structure has seen Ricci play across two different roles: as the lone defensive midfielder at the base of the triangle and also as the right-sided 8. He does have some more freedom to roam when playing as an 8, but, overall, he tends to stick to what he does better at both roles, regardless.
Scanning
The first thing you notice when watching Ricci is how frequently he’s scanning the pitch. That is a massive part of his game and it is what explains most of his moves, with or without the ball. Check out below how many times he does that to create a better picture of what’s happening in the pitch before receiving the ball or making a defensive run.
Defensive moves
The awareness that comes with his scanning actions helps him make better decisions when defending, tracking players to intercept, press or block passing lanes near Zone 14, the edge of the box. He’s always looking to shield that particular area of the pitch and we can see it happens during defensive transitions and also during settled defensive sequences.
He’s also really good at shifting horizontally to cover space, anticipating incoming passes to block or limit progressions. Not being a particularly explosive and quick player, it is that defensive awareness to get out early that allows him to be successful in several of these attempts.
Arriving early is also important so that Ricci can win direct ground duels against other players. The Torino midfielder is good at absorbing physical contact and uses both arms very well to gain an advantage in these situations, slowing down the action and displacing his opponents with ease. Furthermore, he’s good at the way he uses his body to shield the ball.
When attempting to track back without maintaining physical contact, however, he struggles: his lack of explosiveness (compared to outstanding players in this regard) means that Ricci usually isn’t able to keep his opponent as close as he would like, allowing him to separate himself through carries.
Offensive moves
The Italian midfielder is way more involved in the build-up phases than the final third actions. He usually drops deep between two center-backs to drag a marker and open up space for one of the external CBs to take a position further up the pitch. That is a fairly common move of his, even if he isn’t the one getting the ball in these sequences.
When he does make an offensive run, he does tend to target the half-space upon hitting the box, combining to receive in quick sequences. However, he’s not really an impactful player in attack, also due to some Torino’s preferences — that he can identify and hit space should bode well in case any other manager tries to turn him into a late-running box-hitter, nonetheless.
Even if he isn’t the most agile midfielder, Ricci excels at controlling passes, shaping his body in a way that takes the ball away from pressure and, at the same time, lets him face the game. He’s constantly letting the ball roll onto his back-foot, turning, avoiding incoming pressures and readying himself to keep the game flowing at a faster pace — the constant scanning movements helps him make better decisions in these situations. Furthermore, the Italian is also comfortable at using his non-dominant left-foot to take first touches. Because of that, he’s a super reliable player in high pressure scenarios.
Besides that, the fact that he rarely loses the ball can also be explained by his passing choices. At Torino, Ricci isn’t a risky passer and, more often than not, he makes the safest choice available to him, shifting the ball from side to side as opposed to hitting a line-breaking pass through the middle of the pitch. We will rarely ever see him conceding possession during the build-up phases, especially when playing closer to his own goal.
He will attempt long passes when getting the ball in scenarios with less pressure involved, usually when dropping deep. Even then, the results are mixed, as he struggles maintaining the ideal amount of weight to launch the ball in a favorable position for the receivers. He can direct it well, but has work to do if he intends to be a reliable option for faster switches of play.
Final thoughts
Overall, his defensive awareness and press-resistance should make him a valuable asset in modern football — being linked to some of Europe’s biggest clubs is no coincidence. However, I do believe that making the jump to these elite squads would be a step too big for him right now, especially taking into account how most of those clubs play.
From what I’ve seen in some older Empoli games, I could imagine him becoming a more regular line-breaker midfielder, but that would obviously take some time as he readjust back to a different style, something not really afforded when you play for the biggest clubs in Europe.
Getting straight into a UCL title challenger side, for example, could expose his fragilities more than what we currently see at Torino, as he faces faster and stronger players in European competitions. He would probably be just a rotation player for these teams right now. Nonetheless, he’s obviously a good player and, given the right context, could develop nicely into one of the best defensive midfielders in the world in the coming years: picking the right club would be crucial for that. Let’s hope he makes the right choice.
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