When rumours started popping up that a then-18-year-old Franco Mastantuono was being linked to some of the biggest clubs in the world for huge money, I called my shot on this newsletter: I said he was a good young player, but not that good. I offered up a potentially lazy comparison to fellow left-footed River Plate product Erik Lamela, who put together a solid career in Europe, but lacked the athleticism or consistency to break through to the absolute top level.

At River, Mastantuono was a massive volume shooter from the edge of the box with some plus-passing output, but did not look like a high-end dribbler, and did not get a lot of good shots from inside the box. I was skeptical that he was the superstar he was being hyped up to be.

Mastantuono moved to Real Madrid for €45m, and during his first season with Los Blancos, my evaluation of him appeared extremely correct. At La Liga level, he basically had one trick: Rip long-range shots. He offered very little else and was frozen out of the team for important games. It was clear he wasn’t going to be part of Jose Mourinho’s plans for this season, so he was shipped out to Fiorentina. Common Kim W, I’m the GOAT talent evaluator, etc.

But Franco appears determined to prove his haters wrong. Through his first five Serie A matches with Fiorentina, Mastantuono has been one of the most effective attackers in Italy, and he’s not just doing it with his one neat trick. Yes, he’s still ripping shots from The Robben Zone repeatedly, but he’s doing other stuff too. Mastantuono is beating defenders of the dribble and setting up his teammates for shots too.

His only goals have come from one game, where he scored a hat trick in a bit of a silly contest against Venezia. He does have at least one shot on target in every single game this season, but they’ve only gone in against one truly unfortunate goalkeeper. Please enjoy.

While that’s been the most memorable highlight of the season so far for Mastantuono, I don’t think any of those finishes are even close to the best thing he’s done in a Viola shirt. And his best play isn’t an assist either, since Arthur Atta missed the chance.

It’s this run and key pass against Napoli, a pretty significantly higher standard of opponent than Venezia. Here’s Mastantuono receiving the ball in his own half, turning away from a double team, shouldering a defender off the ball, and carrying 40 yards before splitting the center backs with a perfect through ball. This is just about the most valuable play you can make in football.

Mastantuono is still not an assisting machine, but he’s getting the ball to his teammates in good shooting positions more often, and is showing good set piece delivery as well. This is probably the Big Thing he needs to improve if he’s going to become a Real Madrid caliber player, and he is showing signs of doing just that.

It was too early to declare Mastantuono a bust based on one mediocre age 18 season at Real Madrid, but I kind of did anyway because I felt it was a continuation of the limitations he showed at River. Based on early returns at Fiorentina, I might end up eating some crow. Even with Fiorentina looking like a disaster in their first 3 games and firing their coach, Mastantuono is looking like one of the most productive attackers in Serie A, and he should only improve as his completely overhauled squad finds some chemistry.

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