Franco Mastantuono has finally been getting consecutive opportunities in European football. After a first year of ups and downs at Real Madrid, the young Argentine was loaned to Fiorentina this season and has played in all of the club’s games.

The high point of his spell, which began in August, has been the hat-trick against Venezia in the fourth round of Serie A, a 4-2 comeback win that made him the youngest Argentine player to score three times in Europe’s top five leagues. The first two goals were very much in the right winger’s style: cutting inside onto his left foot and placing the finish.

That result, however, was the only time the Florence side managed to win in Serie A. Fiorentina’s campaign has produced six defeats and two draws, which is why they sit on the edge of the relegation zone.

Mastantuono has not been involved in a goal since, even though he remains the team’s main attacking protagonist. One of the reasons lies in the young player’s biggest challenge so far in Italy, which he admitted himself in an interview shortly after arriving in the country.

Mastantuono is Fiorentina’s man, but still lacks end product

Responsible for a third of his team’s league goals, the 19-year-old forward carries the responsibility of being the ‘owner’ of the attacking department in the side managed by Paolo Vanoli. He is always sought out on the wing for an individual move and delivers: he is the leader in ground duels won in the whole of Serie A (48, along with two other players) and third in successful dribbles, 18, alongside Nico Paz.

‘I am always looking to attack, going at opponents and showing personality’ - he explained his profile to the newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport on 4 September.

Thanks to his ability to win individual duels, he also constantly puts himself in a position to shoot, and is third in that statistic in the league too (33, the leader in the Fiorentina squad). He also provides passes for his team-mates’ shots (17 in all, 17th in the league and top in the squad).

The Argentine generates a lot of attacking play, that is undeniable, but the finishing of moves has almost always been negative. He has attempted 33 shots but only nine have been on target. ‘I need to improve in many things, including my efficiency in front of goal,’ he admitted, also to Gazzetta.

Another feature of his game, dribbling, also has issues that hamper Fiorentina and kill the team’s attacks. Mastantuono often wins a one-on-one and, instead of passing the ball, tries another, which makes him lose it.

His success rate in dribbles and ground duels is below half of those attempted (43% and 48% respectively). Among all Serie A players, he is second for possession losses, with 20. Manager Vanoli has already identified the issue, praising the youngster as the only one capable of setting the team’s tempo.

‘He is a talent who needs to be put at the service of the team and must improve his understanding of when to dictate the team’s rhythm. He is the only one who can do that. I told him that, in Italy, we are good at noticing when a player wants to dribble. He needs to improve in one-on-one situations and understand that, if he is double-marked, there will always be a team-mate free. And that means playing as a team’ - he said on 23 October.

A natural maturing process, and criticism he cannot control

This, however, is still common for Franco Mastantuono’s age. It is a natural maturing process. He still looks a very promising youngster, to the same extent as when he emerged at River Plate. He does not see much fairness in the criticism he receives.

‘People demand a lot of me. I understand, I know what they expect of me. Many times they are hard on me, but I try to make the most of it. [...] I do not complain about criticism.

I am a footballer and I understand that. But people talk about things that are outside my control. I just do my job and always try to do it well’ - he told TyC Sports in early October.

Mastantuono is answering some of that criticism on the pitch and, after the frustration of missing the World Cup because of his few minutes at Real Madrid, he was part of Argentina’s latest call-up. The forward, like Nico Paz and other youngsters, will be the future of Argentina in a new era without Lionel Messi and other experienced players.