It looks like normal order has been restored in Serie A, with Inter Milan and Juventus setting the pace in the league while last season’s champions languish in eighth place. Further down the table in 14th, though, we find Frosinone, a club that has spent their last decade between Serie A and Serie C. It is a good season by their standards; however, one of their players is having anything but a normal season. Signed on loan from Juventus in the summer, Matías Soule has been perhaps the best-rising player in the league.
One main reason Frosinone find themselves five points above the relegation zone is the talented youngster. Soule has spent the majority of his career in his native Argentina before he came on the radar of Juventus’ scouting network.
Soule was already known as one of the best young players in Italy since the last season. However, he still had to make the big switch: perform with the same intensity in Serie A week in and week out.
After 16 games in the current season, Soule has made a strong case for becoming one of football’s next-generation superstars.
So, who is Matias Soule, and how good is he?
Who is Matias Soule?
Matias Soule was born on April 15, 2003 in the coastal city of Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires state. Like thousands of his fellow football compatriots, Soule started his career at 6 when he joined the youth set-up of Kimberley. For the next six years, he stayed at the club before Velez Sarsfield picked him up.
Joining Velez was a significant move in his career as the club has a good record for producing the best young players in the country, such as World Cup winner Thiago Almada and Manchester City’s Maximo Perrone.
It was at Velez that Soule’s career started to take off. Perrone and Almada were also at the club during the time. And just like the other two, Soule finally got his dream move when the Old Lady came calling and signed him in 2020.
Soule was sent straight to the Juventus’s reserve team while playing for the under-19 squad in the UEFA Youth League. Soule scored seven goals and provided seven assists in 42 games, a respectable return for a player in his first professional season. In the UEFA Youth League, he helped Juventus reach the semi-final, their best performance in the competition to date.
This performance impressed the senior coaching hierarchy of the club, who promoted him to the first team. He made 19 appearances for the senior squad, scoring one goal. It is only this season that we have seen how helpful these valuable minutes proved to be.
Matias Soule stats
At the start of the 2023-24 season, it was clear that despite being talented, Soule would find it hard to break into the first team. So Juventus sent him on loan to Frosinone. This was the perfect environment as it allowed Soule to show the high ceiling in a squad whose main objective was to avoid relegation.
At the time of writing, Soule had scored seven goals, the most by any player on the team. However, the true reflection of his talent can be gauged by the Expected Threat (xT). The metric measures how threatening a player is in different parts of the pitch, either through his passing or ball-carrying ability.
2003 – Matías Soulé is the youngest player among those who have already scored and provided an assist in this #SerieA championship. Youthful.#FrosinoneFiorentina
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) September 28, 2023
And Soule is the fourth-best player in the league in this metric. Most of his xT numbers are made from carries, where he is the third-most deadliest player after Rafael Leao and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. This stat is backed by his successful dribble numbers, where he is at 63, 19 more than the next-best player in the league.
Soule’s ball-carrying ability is so supreme that it takes credit from his passing. According to xvalue, the winger had completed 12 through balls, with only Giacomo Bonaventura faring better. Soule has created 41 chances, the joint second-most in the league.
Matias Soule style of play
A look at his heatmap of the current season gives us a clear view of the area where Soule likes to operate. Soule is a left-footed player who plays on the right wing. Usually, these players love to cut back inside to bring the ball onto their stronger feet. Soule also does that but is adept at using the bylines to stretch the opposition.
As evident by the stats presented earlier, Soule is brilliant at passing and carrying the ball. This is why he prefers to keep multiple options in the attacking third. He likes to cut back inside but can also quickly dribble his way from the byline to the goal if that option looks more promising for creating a chance.
This keeps the defenders in two minds, making it very hard to contain him. Another unique thing about him is that he always looks for a passing option to a player in a better situation than him before taking the shot himself. Several of the big chances he created were from passes he made after cutting back inside, allowing him to use his left foot.
Soule also has raw pace, which, combined with his physicality, makes him a menace in the attacking third of the pitch. Most of the big chances created from his passes were from his left foot in the inside right channel.
His style is similar to that of Mohammed Salah. Soule’s creativity would have reaped more dividends if his teammates were more clinical in front of the goal.
Matias Soule potential
While the season is still far from ever, Soule has ticked all the boxes. This could be his last loan outing if he manages to keep these stats. Reports suggest that top clubs are also interested in securing his services if Juventus are willing to sell.
The greatest challenge for any player in his career is when he is thrown into the deep end, where he either survives or perishes. And Soule has not just survived but also thrived, showcasing his best in a team where the most is expected of him.
Soule’s next challenge is simple: be consistent and avoid injuries. If he manages that, his dream of playing for a big club will come soon. His talent has caused transfer battles not only between clubs but also between countries.
Despite being born in Argentina, Soule also has Italian citizenship, making him eligible to play for both nations. He has already played for Argentina’s under-16 and under-20 sides. However, in November 2023, Italy’s national team head coach, Luciano Spalletti, expressed his desire to offer Soule a call-up.
Soule, however, stated that he wishes to represent Argentina. In an interview with Sport Mediaset via TMW, the player said, “I spoke to Spalletti; I told him the truth, which was that I felt Argentinian. I thanked him because he wanted me, then I also spoke to Walter Samuel who told me I was given a provisional call-up. I’m waiting for Argentina, I don’t know if it will come now or later, but I’m Argentine, I was born there, and my heart always says Argentina.”
And if he gets a call from the Argentina national team and continues his upward trajectory, he could be the potential successor to perhaps the greatest footballer of time who played for La Albiceleste on the right wing. This could be Matias Soule’s greatest motivation to go and fulfil his sky-high potential.