Valentin Castellanos has been able to assert himself at Lazio following Ciro Immobile’s exit, starting to grow into an important player under Marco Baroni.
The 25-year-old Argentinian striker struggled for consistent playing time in his debut season with the Biancocelesti, being considered the backup option to Immobile. He made just 16 league starts and only found the back of the net four times in Serie A in his first year in Italy.
With Immobile moving onto Besiktas earlier this month, space in the Lazio starting lineup has opened up for Castellanos, who is now considered the first-choice number nine by Baroni and President Claudio Lotito.
As highlighted by Corriere dello Sport (via La Lazio Siamo Noi), Castellanos has impressed Baroni and Lazio during their pre-season preparations, finding the back of the net in the 3-0 friendly win over Hansa Rostock, and is beginning to prove himself in the Italian capital.
He was heavily linked with a move to Girona earlier this month and things could progress once they complete the sale of Artem Dovbyk to Roma, but the Biancocelesti aren’t keen to lose the 25-year-old, believing in his potential and ability.
He is an intelligent player BUT lacking the composure. In a 1v1 situation, he tends to dive and that’s bad since he is a good and accurate shooter. Remember the last season’s final match? He could have scored since the goal was 60-70% open, yet he chose to dive. IF he managed to fix the problem, he could be better than Immobile. Let us see how the next season goes.