Italian Serie B Celtic transfer options scouted: Winger with 'immense' footwork, midfield dictator and more

Italy is known for producing players with huge potential and the second tier, Serie B, contains some undervalued players who could make for potential bargains.

Here, we cast an eye on Serie B and proffer three players who could add to Celtic's options come summertime...

Salvatore Esposito (SPAL)

Nationality: Italian; Age: 21; Position: Defensive midfielder; Preferred foot: Right; Height: 5ft 10in; TransferMarkt value: £2.7million

Celtic could use an extra option in defensive midfield, particularly one who is proficient on the ball and can dictate play. Esposito fits that bill and would be a cheap option for the Hoops. He is the brother of Sebastiano Esposito, who is getting a lot of attention as he keeps performing at a top-level while on loan at FC Basel from Inter.

Salvatore has represented the Italy under-21 national team six times, with his last under-21 game coming in November 2021 against Romania in a friendly. With his contract coming to an end in 2023, he could be picked up for a relatively cheap price.

The heatmap above shows the areas he is involved in. It is evident that Esposito receives the ball in the central areas, mainly in the midfield third of the pitch. SPAL have mainly played a 4-3-1-2 with Esposito playing in the middle of the three in midfield.

Esposito’s passing numbers are excellent, attempting just over eight progressive passes per 90 and looking to play it forward most of the time. The Italian midfielder drops in between the centre-backs when in possession to receive and facilitate play.

He is, essentially, someone a play dictator who controls the tempo of the team. This ability could be of huge value to a bigger team like Celtic, should Postecoglou want to allow captain Callum McGregor to play further forward more often. In addition, Esposito is calm under pressure.

Instead of booting the ball up high or outside, Esposito weighs his option by using his body to shield the ball and gets away before finding a good passing option. He isn’t scared to do this even in his defensive third, as shown in the images above.

He has a sublime range of passing, too, and is able to go long or short as needed. He can help the team recycle possession while also attempting passes that break lines and split defensive organisations. His through-ball numbers reinforce this. 

Esposito is neither especially fast nor especially tall but he does have good body strength. He uses this to shield the ball and also tussle during duels. Averaging around 6.5 interceptions per 90, he is aware of the situations around him and positions himself well to react to them. It should be noted that he does have a habit of going down on the ground to try to nick the ball off the opponent even in situations where he could stall the opponent by staying on his feet instead of committing.

However, it has to be remembered that he is just 21 and will likely keep improving, especially if he is coached by someone like Postecoglou.

Lorenzo Pirola (Monza)

Nationality: Italian; Age (DOB): 20; Position: Centre-back; Preferred foot: Left; Height: 6ft 1in; TransferMarkt value: £1.98m

Cameron Carter-Vickers has been a crucial player for Celtic this season at right centre-back. The club has the option to buy him in the summer when the loan deal with Tottenham Hotspur expires but, even if they do, there would still be wisdom in recruiting a left-sided, left-footed centre-back this summer anyway.

Carl Starfelt has done a decent job for the Hoops this season but bringing in a natural lefty would open up various possibilities for Postecoglou. Inter Milan’s Lorenzo Pirola, who is currently on loan at Monza, would be a cheap and smart buy in this regard.

Pirola has been capped four times by the Italian under-21 national team and was attracting interest from both Manchester United and Manchester City a couple of years back. However, the Inter loanee has recorded just 464 minutes for Monza this season, mainly as he missed 10 games due to a knee injury from mid-November to mid-February.

READ MORE: Why Celtic must adhere to the dos and don'ts of getting the ball in the box

Monza play with a back three and Lirola plays on the left side of that, dropping wider most of the time. The heatmap above indicates his involvement down that left flank in the defensive third.

Pirola is a highly progressive passer and is definitely above average despite Monza keeping around 56 per cent possession in the Serie B this season. The young Italian prefers playing it short and has the ability to go in between the lines with his passes. He does not switch or go long very often but, when he does, he tends to play it vertically to feed potential runners.

He is not the kind of player who always punts the ball out of pitch when put under pressure. He has the intelligence to assess his options before making the next move, even if he is under pressure. As a result of this, he occasionally chooses the wrong option but his confidence to keep the ball is commendable.

Pirola really comes into life on the defensive side. He is a front-footed defender who goes for the challenge and commits fully rather than stall attackers. He makes himself physically assertive and gets very tight, as a marker.

Standing at 6ft 1in, he is well-built physically and doesn’t shy away from using that strength. One of his key traits is that he gets tight and wins possession back by disrupting the balance of his opponent. This works perfectly against players who aren’t very quick and mobile but the way he commits does lead to dangerous situations against his team now and again.

While Pirola is well built, he doesn't marry that up with being particularly fleet of foot. However, he is extremely good in the air and wins just over 69 per cent of his aerial duels. Despite getting tight to his opponents, he commits fewer fouls than an average centre-back from Serie B (and the SPFL Premiership). He also carries good anticipation is good and doesn’t shy from going to the ground or putting his body on the line to block crosses and shots.

Overall, Pirola is someone who has his defending basics sorted out but is still working on being a game-changer on the ball.

Mattéo Tramoni (Brescia)

Nationality: French; Age: 22; Position: Left winger; Preferred foot: Right; TransferMarkt Value: £1.98m

Brescia winger Mattéo Tramoni, on loan from Cagliari, is someone who is good with his feet and, looking at his creative numbers below, it is evident that he likes to make those threatening final passes.

Tramoni is an effective dribbler, completing 3.39 dribbles per 90, while another key strength of his is the ability to turn quickly and get past players. The Frenchman has a strong-foot bias and you can see him try to cut inside from the left before putting the ball into the penalty box or taking shots. He is probably best characterised as average with his weaker foot although he is still capable of delivering ground crosses with it.

Despite impressive ground balls, Tramoni tends to overhit crosses occasionally. He is, however, a threat in the box as you can see from his non-penalty expected goals numbers. He loves getting into the box and getting shots away. He has the ability to curl in shots and can also hit with power but his decision-making with regards to shooting needs to improve. He takes a fair amount of shots when, frankly, it isn’t the right option.

The image above is one example of the same where he is better off laying the ball off to the left flank but instead sets up himself to shoot from distance with traffic in front. Tramoni’s footwork can be immense on occasions, keeping the ball close to his feet and wiggling his way around defenders, as well as keeping hold of the ball to get out of tight situations. He can overdo it at times and lose possession but, in terms of ability, it is definitely one of his strengths.

While he isn't blistering pace, he does have sufficient acceleration over short distances to beat players in one-v-one situations and isn't shy in attempting to do so.

Tramoni’s game isn’t complete with his abilities on the ball as he is quite efficient off it too. He presses in the final third and closes down players quickly in his vicinity as well as carrying a tenaciousness in duels.

The numbers do reflect that he ranks above average in defensive duels attempted and also in win percentage. He is, in effect, a high-volume dueller and this leads to him committing a fair amount of fouls as a result.