Flying Fullbacks: Who Are The Most Affordable Chance-Creating Full-Backs In Serie A?

Fintan O'Reilly - Total Football Analyst

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The role of the full-back/wing-back is now one that can’t be overlooked or undervalued, with more and more responsibilities constantly being placed upon those players.

Creative wing-backs were critically important in the title wins in three of Europe’s most prestigious leagues last season, for instance, Bayer Leverkusen’s Bundesliga win, Inter’s Serie A win, and Sporting CP’s Primeira Liga victory in Portugal.

For those interested, our April Total Football Analysis magazine provides an in-depth analysis of those three teams’ wing-back tactics.

Given how influential and effective they can be, it’s no surprise to see full-backs and wing-backs growing in value, with their transfer fees sometimes matching those of top attackers.

For instance, the world’s most expensive defender, Joško Gvardiol, has primarily played as a left-back since moving to Manchester City for €90m, though he is a natural left centre-back.

Achraf Hakimi’s €68m move to PSG and Marc Cucurella’s €65.3m transfer to Chelsea are among the highest fees paid for out-and-out full-backs — also ranking well among the highest payments for any defenders in history.

According to Transfermarkt, Trent Alexander-Arnold (€70m), Theo Hernández (€60m), and Nuno Mendes (€55m) are among the most valuable defenders in the world at the moment, further illustrating the growing value of full-backs.

This tactical analysis and scout report, however, aims to find some of the best creative full-backs in the world who also offer great value to teams who may require a player of this ilk but don’t have the money to splash the cash on one of the world’s most valuable players in the position, like those mentioned.

Our search is focused on Serie A — a league where full-backs and wing-backs tend to be valued quite highly and relied upon heavily for what they can offer without the ball and with the ball up and down the table.

Outside of AC Milan’s Theo Hernández, excellent quality can be found at far more reasonable valuations based on the current estimates.

This analysis will focus on three players who play a significant offensive role in their respective teams’ tactics.

Over the next year or so, they could represent outstanding value for money for any team in the market for creative full-backs.

Giuseppe Pezzella Scouting Report At Empoli - 26 Years Old

The first player on our list is also the oldest of our trio — 26-year-old Giuseppe Pezzella of Empoli.

Figure 1

Figure 1 highlights the Empoli wing-back’s percentile ranks in key metrics compared to other players from his position in Europe’s top-five leagues.

The left radar shows data from the 2024/25 season so far, and the right-hand side is based on the 2023/24 campaign.