Since the start of the season, Juventus manager Max Allegri has been deploying Federico Chiesa as a second striker alongside Dusan Vlahovic.
The Italian’s transformation from a winger to a forward has been one of the most captivating stories of the campaign thus far. The 25-year-old has already bagged three goals in the first four Serie A fixtures, helping his club collect 10 from a possible 12 points.
Inter legend Aldo Serena has been keeping a close eye on the situation, and he likes what he’s seeing from Chiesa thus far.
The 63-year-old was a striker himself who represented some of the biggest clubs in Italian football, including Juventus between 1985 and 1987.
The former Italy international explains how the lure of the goal can change a player’s mindset, even rendering him obsessed with scoring.
“The evolution of Chiesa into a second striker is working. First, it was intriguing, now it’s convincing,” explains Serena in his interview with Tuttosport via ilBianconero.
“It seems to me that Federico has definitely embraced the path of being an attacker.
“Playing close to the goal changes you, because you become addicted to goals. And then, you tend to get as close as possible to the penalty box.
“Playing close to the box increases your self-confidence. So when the opportunity to shoot on goal presents itself, you’ll take it.
“Scoring 16 goals this season? It seems entirely plausible to me. And I agree with Allegri that the player has to get there.
“During the match, he’ll go wide when necessary, as will happen even more frequently in the national team where Spalletti adopts a different formation, but Chiesa must play to score goals. He has the required characteristics.”
