Matias Soulé is currently shining in Serie A. Mats Hummels raves about his former teammate, who is now being contested by two football powerhouses.
A quick cut inside, a finish with his strong left foot, and the curler lands impressively in the left corner. What sounds like a classic goal from Arjen Robben or Lionel Messi was actually scored by Matias Soulé for AS Roma in their 2-1 away win against AC Florence.
The 22-year-old is currently the rising star at Roma and one of the reasons the club is performing better than it has in a long time. With 15 points after six games, the capital club is tied for second place in Serie A with league leaders SSC Napoli.
Matias Soulé shines in Serie A
Things are going incredibly well for Soulé in particular. He practically decided the match in Florence single-handedly. First, he equalized with his impressive curler, and later he set up the winning goal with a well-timed corner.
In the six Serie A games so far, Soulé has always been in the starting lineup, scoring three goals and providing two assists.
Hummels is impressed by Soulé
“You should remember Mathias Soulé, he’s not even on the radar in Germany yet. A fantastic player who has taken a leap forward,” Mats Hummels recently praised him on the podcast Copa TS with Tommi Schmitt.
And Hummels should know, as he is probably more familiar with Soulé than anyone else in Germany. After all, the 2014 World Champion played alongside the Argentine at Roma last season.
“In the first half of the year when I was there, he played relatively little,” Hummels recalls: “He’s a good guy, developing really well, and is a cool footballer.”
Matias Soulé (r.) played with Mats Hummels at AS Roma
Soulé already showed promising signs during the season he shared with Hummels.
In a total of 39 appearances, he only managed five goals and five assists. However, if you look only at the last 14 matchdays of the previous Serie A season, when he established himself as an undisputed starter, the numbers are impressive. During that period, he scored four of his five season goals and provided all five assists.
No player in Serie A is more dangerous from distance
The 22-year-old carried the momentum from the end of last season into this one, becoming an absolute key player for Roma.
Soulé stands out particularly for his versatility. This season, he has already played in three different positions, impressing as a right winger, a second striker, and as a number ten.
“Cool one-on-one, he’s a bit of a street player,” Hummels said about Soulé’s qualities. This description fits the Argentine’s playing style very well, as he operates with incredible trickery and is willing to take risks in his dribbles.
Combined with his acceleration, quick short turns, and extremely powerful left-footed shot, he always poses a threat.
His shot from outside the penalty area is a real weapon. His goal against Fiorentina was already his sixth goal from outside the box. No player has scored more goals from distance in Serie A since the 2023/24 season.
Was BVB keen on Soulé?
Even before Soulé really took off this season, he reportedly attracted significant interest from other clubs last summer – including from Germany.
In Italy, it was reported at the time that Borussia Dortmund was interested in signing the Argentine after his strong second half of the season. Additionally, VfB Stuttgart was also said to have the offensive player on their list.
Things didn’t get particularly concrete in either case. However, this was reportedly not the first time that German clubs were said to be keen on Soulé.
Even before his move to Roma, Gazzetta dello Sport and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reported strong interest from BVB. FC Bayern, Bayer Leverkusen, and RB Leipzig were also said to have the talented attacker on their radar.
But in 2024, Soulé moved from Juventus Turin, whom the Argentine joined in 2020 at the age of 16 from Velez Sarsfield, to Roma for nearly 25 million euros. In Turin, he had previously played in the youth academy for several years and took his first steps in Serie A.
Argentina or Italy? Soulé faces a difficult choice
And because Soulé has been playing in Italy for so long now, there is currently a major discussion surrounding the offensive talent.
Despite his convincing performances, his home country Argentina has not yet called him up to the senior national team, so Italy is actively courting Soulé. His agent is trying to use this to put pressure on the Argentine federation.
“He is one of the few Argentine talents who hasn’t been given a single minute to play,” complained agent Martin Guastadisegno to LaRoma24.it : “His dream is to play in the World Cup. He is Italian-Argentinian. I don’t know what could happen if the situation in Argentina doesn’t change.”
Argentina’s head coach Lionel Scaloni remained calm about the situation during the current international break: “I don’t think that’s possible. We see him as part of the future of the Argentine national team, and he will get his chances soon.”
Soulé himself also spoke up, making it clear in an interview with Il Messagero that Argentina is his first choice: “The Italian football federation called me twice. I’m grateful, but I want to play for Argentina.”
Only one thing is certain – besides the two nations, numerous clubs from other countries will certainly be closely following the development of the current biggest rising star in Serie A.