3. Fabiano Parisi
Empoli have surprised many this season and left-back Parisi has been one of their shining lights despite only featuring sporadically. The 21-year-old is a solid, dependable left-back who contributes in all phases.
While Parisi has just one goal contribution in 732 minutes of Serie A action this season, the underlying metrics depict his influence in attack. He sits in the 91st percentile of left-backs from Europe’s top five leagues over the past year in terms of shot-creating actions per 90 minutes (2.83), and 93rd percentile for total shots (1.35).
Parisi is also notably progressive with the ball. The Empoli star has registered 6.02 progressive passes, 7.62 progressive carries and 1.6 completed dribbles per 90 minutes over the past year. Those figures rank in the 95th, 93rd and 90th percentiles compared to his positional peers.
Despite his impressive numbers, Parisi remains an unknown commodity. His sample size at the top level is relatively small. Nevertheless, the 21-year-old has demonstrated this season his capacity to blossom into one of Serie A’s finest full-backs in the future. This could be a smart, under the radar pick-up by the Bianconeri.
Check out FBRef’s full scouting report of Fabiano Parisi here.