Atalanta return to league duty against Venezia on Monday 12 with a need for points and a growing sense that Maurizio Sarri may alter the team’s attacking reference points. The possibility is not merely a late-game adjustment: a 4-2-3-1 from the opening whistle is increasingly under consideration as the coach looks to give his side a different rhythm after the international break.
The change would be intended less as a simple increase in attacking numbers than as an attempt to release a team which had looked short of fluency before the pause. Sarri still has time to settle on his selection, but the proposed shape could bring Charles De Ketelaere away from the right flank and into a position closer to the penalty area.
De Ketelaere at the centre of the plan
De Ketelaere has returned from Belgium duty with encouraging signs, despite not finding the net for his country. He started three of Belgium’s four matches as a centre-forward and supplied assists against Italy and Turkey, displaying a sharpness Atalanta have not consistently seen from him this season.
The contrast has been clear. The Belgian has been below his usual level in Bergamo, including in front of goal, while his international performances suggested he remains capable of making decisive choices around the box. He has not scored for Atalanta since 10 January; by Monday 12, that run will stand at 275 days. Since March, however, he has scored five times for Belgium across friendlies and the World Cup.
After the match against Italy, De Ketelaere again made clear where he feels most comfortable. “I feel very good as a centre-forward. I have played in that role for a long time,” he said. “I can move in every direction, but I like playing through the middle.”
It is a position he has spoken about before, both during the World Cup and earlier in the campaign. Operating nearer the goal appears to give him greater assurance, while his spell as a right-sided forward in Atalanta’s 4-3-3 has not brought the same natural response.
A solution without sacrificing the striker
Sarri’s dilemma is that the central striking role is already well supplied. Gianluca Scamacca is currently favoured ahead of Nikola Krstovic, but both offer genuine options and leaving either out would be a significant call.
The 4-2-3-1 could provide another route. Rather than asking De Ketelaere to lead the line, Atalanta could use him behind the centre-forward, with Scamacca the likely focal point. Such an arrangement would allow the Belgian to receive in central areas and arrive closer to goal without removing the team’s established striker.
There is also room for movement between the two forwards. De Ketelaere and Scamacca could exchange positions at times, making their markers adjust and giving Atalanta less predictable routes into the final third.
De Ketelaere was the last Atalanta player to return from the World Cup and has also dealt with a physical problem during the season, factors which have limited Sarri’s opportunity to work with him continuously. Yet his importance to the club remains beyond doubt: Atalanta see him as one of their principal attacking assets and are waiting for his influence to return.
Monday’s meeting with Venezia may therefore offer more than a response to a difficult pre-break period. For Sarri, it could be the first step in building an Atalanta side with De Ketelaere closer to the action, and closer to the role in which he believes he can make the greatest difference.
