Ciro Immobile and Dusan Vlahovic have received a lot of press this season in Serie A for their goalscoring exploits. While the two strikers are first and second in the Serie A goalscoring charts, the most exciting forward in Serie A this season is arguably Hellas Verona hitman Giovanni Simeone.
The son of Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone, the younger Simeone has made his mark in Italian football over the years. Simeone debuted in Serie A in 2016 for Genoa.
✨ 𝘾𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙤 ✨@simeonegiovanni has scored his 1️⃣6️⃣th goal in #SerieA💎 this season - he is the only Argentine player with at least 15 goals to his credit in the top 5 European championships of 2021/22 ⚽🇦🇷@HellasVeronaFC #WeAreCalcio pic.twitter.com/0iflaORtkx— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) April 6, 2022
✨ 𝘾𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙤 ✨@simeonegiovanni has scored his 1️⃣6️⃣th goal in #SerieA💎 this season - he is the only Argentine player with at least 15 goals to his credit in the top 5 European championships of 2021/22 ⚽🇦🇷@HellasVeronaFC #WeAreCalcio pic.twitter.com/0iflaORtkx
Simeone was a hit for the Grifone scoring 12 Serie A goals in 35 matches. His goalscoring exploits led Genoa to sell Simeone to Fiorentina for £15.3 million the following offseason. Genoa made over £10m in profit from the sale.
The striker replicated his goalscoring success in Florence with 14 goals in 2017-18. However, just as Simeone was on the rise, he fell off the following campaign with just six goals in 36 Serie A appearances.
The lack of goals influenced Fiorentina to loan and later sell Simeone to Cagliari in 2019. Simeone’s first season on Sardinia saw him score 12 goals but just six goals were scored the following season.
Last summer, Cagliari agreed to loan Simeone to Hellas Verona and history is repeating itself. Simeone has a knack for playing well in his first season with a brand-new club.
In each debut season Simeone has had with a Serie A club, he has bagged double digit goals. This season, the striker has 16 goals already, which is his best-ever campaign in the final third. Simeone has accounted for 29% of Hellas Verona’s goals.
Simeone’s goalscoring exploits this season have not gone unnoticed outside of Italy. While Benfica’s Darwin Nunez and Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland are the two most sought-after strikers in the world, Simeone is not far behind.
Reports indicate that Manchester United could be interested in the striker. In addition, Newcastle United, Leeds United, and West Ham are all tracking the hitman. Newcastle United have allegedly made contact with Cagliari over signing Simeone already.
Simeone is only on loan at Hellas Verona, meaning Cagliari can cash-in on the striker in the offseason. The 26-year-old's market value is up to just over £15m, it is at its highest point since 2018 when Simeone was worth a reported £22m.
So, why do these teams want to sign Simeone? Other than scoring 16 goals for a midtable Serie A club, Simeone has made the most of his shots per game. Simeone averages just 2.31 shots per 90 minutes. He averages a goal every 136 minutes in Serie A play.
Simeone is not just a goalscorer inside the 18-yard box. He has scored three of his 16 goals outside the penalty area. Five of Simeone’s goals have come in the six-yard box as he has shown his quality and ability to score different types of goals.
Perhaps the biggest worry is that Simeone has routinely had excellent debut seasons for new clubs only to fall off the following season. It is something clubs around England should be aware of, but may believe they can get the most out of the striker in subsequent seasons.