Davide Frattesi has returned to Lazio with the kind of momentum that can alter a season’s tone. Three league goals have made him the club’s leading scorer, while his international break brought minutes, a goal and another reminder of how closely Gennaro Gattuso follows his progress.
The midfielder said he had not expected such a strong start, but admitted that he arrived highly driven after the previous campaign. His message is also clear: he wants to be judged as more than a player who merely attacks the box from midfield.
Quick facts
- Frattesi has scored three Serie A goals, level with Sassuolo’s Adzic among midfielders.
- All three of his league goals have come from inside the penalty area.
- He has eight shots and 18 touches in the opposition box for Lazio.
- Only Mattia Zaccagni has recorded more attempts, with 16, and more penalty-area touches, with 19.
- Frattesi has created five chances and contested a squad-high 45 duels.
- No Serie A midfielder has won more fouls in the final third than his three.
The numbers support a broader picture than the familiar label attached to Frattesi. “There is this idea that I only know how to make runs into the area, but that is not the case,” he said. “Anyone who has watched the opening league rounds has seen what I am. It is a label I want to remove as soon as possible.”
His scoring remains the sharpest part of his game, but Lazio have also seen him create for teammates, compete in possession and carry the ball into advanced spaces. For a side building its weekly rhythm around Gattuso’s demands, that work has mattered as much as the goals.
Frattesi’s international schedule was managed without excessive strain. He played 25 minutes against Belgium, 82 against Turkey and scored, then completed 80 minutes versus France before adding six minutes in the return fixture with Turkey.
Gattuso remained in regular contact while he was away. Frattesi joked that the Italy coach calls him every day because he misses him, but the calls also reflected Lazio’s concern over bringing him back fit for the meeting with Monza.
Gattuso has made no secret of the role he played in taking Frattesi to Rome. Speaking at the Trento Festival, he recalled telling the player during national-team camps that he could not be satisfied with 15- or 20-minute appearances and had to make a decision about his career.
“He has specific qualities and needed to take on some responsibility,” Gattuso said. Lazio had limited room in the market, he added, making Frattesi’s decision to join especially significant. The coach said he was pleased that the midfielder had taken responsibility for his own path.
The move followed a summer of repeated calls from Gattuso, who wanted Frattesi at Lazio. It was the other side of his previous situation at Inter, where he had stayed a year earlier after receiving assurances from coach Cristian Chivu that he would have more space.
Bruno Giordano believes Frattesi should not be reduced to a comparison with more defensive midfielders. He described him as an attacking midfielder rather than a positional, construction-minded or ball-winning specialist, and said his natural strengths should be developed for the team.
Giordano’s assessment was simple: Frattesi is dynamic, capable in several phases and at his best when an attacking move reaches its conclusion. Lazio do not need him to become someone else; they need him to keep turning his current form into a dependable part of their league campaign.
