Napoli Attacker Lorenzo Insigne Statistically Revealed to Be the Most Creative Player in Europe So Far This Season
When one thinks about the term ‘creativity’ in football, a few player names probably comes to mind before any others.
The likes of Lionel Messi, Luka Modric, Thiago Alcantara, Kevin De Bruyne, and Mesut Ozil are the calibre of players we associate the ‘creativity’ with as they’re the most creative player we think in the game today.
However, statistics oppose that, none of the aforementioned players lead the way in Europe this season, as that honour falls the way of a surprise name in Lorenzo Insigne of Napoli.
According to collations from WhoScored, the Italian forward has amassed 10-clear cut goalscoring chances so far this season, which is more than anyone else across the continent’s top five league.
Lorenzo Insigne: Has created more clear-cut goalscoring chances (10) than any other player in Europe's top 5 leagues this season pic.twitter.com/3qr4KFevs5
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) October 25, 2017
Insigne has four assists to his name, meaning his teammates have actually squandered a fair few of those clear-cut chances, but the fact remains: Insigne is top dog when it comes to making meaningful goalscoring opportunities so far this season.
The 26-year-old has emerged as one of table-topping Napoli’s most dangerous and important players under coach Maurizio Sarri, whose attacking brand of football has everybody talking.
The Italian international has emerged as one of table-topping Napoli’s most dangerous and important icon under the tutelage of Maurizio Sarri, whose attacking brand of football has everybody talking.
The Napples collectively have scored 29 goals in just 10 top flight matches so far, and Insigne, along with superstar Dries Mertens and Jose Callejon, is a big reason for such productivity in front of goal.
The midfielder standing 163cm tall, began his professional career with Napoli in 2009, making his Serie A debut in 2010, but later ship out of the club on consecutive season loan spells to Foggia and Pescara, before making the return back to Napoli in 2012. Insigne is capable of playing on either flank, or through the centre, but is usually deployed as left winger. The winger is known in particular for his creativity, speed and technical ability, as well as his accuracy from free-kicks.
Lorenzo Insigne represent the Italy national under-21 team, with which he won a runner-up medal at the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Insigne made his debut for the senior team in September 2012, and has represented Italy at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and at UEFA Euro 2016.