LORENZO INSIGNE

Who is he? Where does he play?

He is Napoli's 21 year old versatile attacker charged with filling the void left behind by Ezequiel Lavezzi, who left for PSG last summer. Marek Hamsik is still there, Edinson Cavani is still there, but Insigne is still trying to prove he can be the third member of the new "holy trinity".

I take it he's in the same mould as Lavezzi then?

Lavezzi was the greyhound of a right winger, running up and down the flank and providing the legs and devastating finish as Walter Mazzarri's Napoli operated on the counter attack, Insigne is more nimble, dropping into attacking space in order to supply others. He has just 4 goals this season from 17 appearances but his 7 assists suggests how effective he is at creating; he has made a total of 40 chances this term.

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli has been particularly glowing in his support of Insigne having called him up to the full squad after just 8 caps for the under-21s. “We have been closely following Insigne and the reports are all excellent. He is a prototypical modern attacker, gifted tactically, and he plays according to the team not to himself,” said the 55 year old manager. 

So less "in your face", more "in your space"?

I don't know what that means, but, erm, yeah. Insigne operates mainly on the left, using his 5ft 4 inch frame (he was discarded from Inter Milan as a youth due to his small physique) and uses his low degree of balance to spring away from tight spaces, creating space for others (the likes of Cavani). He has attempted over 600 passes this season with a completion rate of 80%. 

His great control and willingness to dribble away from opponents in attacking areas bought him to the attention of eccentric 4-3-3 devotee Zdenek Zeman,  who positioned him on the left of his attacking trio whilst on loan at Foggia (scoring 19 goals in 33 games), and then at Pescara (where he registered 18 goals and 14 assists in Serie B).

Zeman eh? Why didn't he follow him to Rome?

Because he went back to Naples, where he is now being likened to Maradona, the last diminutive genius to grace the San Paolo, but it's going to take him a lot more time before he can be truly compared to the Argentine, of course. He will have to improve on his goal-scoring rate for a start, the player has a fondness to shoot from long range, attempting 55 so far this season, instead of getting into the box and finishing chances off like Lavezzi did. 

Interesting stuff. Will he be moving on soon?

With Cavani's departure highly possible, it's doubtful he will leave the lovely (crime-ridden) streets of Naples so soon. With Eduardo Vargas struggling to convince since his big money move, it looks like Insigne may be the on charged with succeeding the Uruguayan goal-machine.

Hang on, wasn't he supposed to be the new Lavezzi?

Well yeah, then the new Cavani before long. How about he's the new Insigne? How will that do.. eh?

Anyways, stop asking questions and read this:

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/pitchside-europe/meet-lorenzo-insigne-italy-wonderkid-151204025.html

and maybe this

http://outsideoftheboot.com/2013/03/04/lorenzo-insigne-scout-report/