Who is Youssef En-Nesyri: experience and goals, a hot name to replace Lukaku at Roma

Roma on the hunt for a striker. With the failed redemption of Romelu Lukaku and with Tammy Abraham also who could leave in this transfer window, the new ds Ghisolfi is looking for the right profile to give to the coach Daniele De Rossi as a new offensive reference. There are many names, as usual, in this transfer window and, among the hottest, in the last few hours there is certainly that of Youssef En-Nesyri: striker owned by Sevilla and leaving the Andalusian club.

Moroccan by birth, Spanish by adoption
En-Nesyri began his career in Morocco, in the youth teams of Maghreb Fès and Académie Mohammed VI. However, it was an extremely short period because, already in 2015, the 1997-born player emigrated to Europe and went to complete his youth training in Malaga. With the Boquerones he went through all the ranks, then moving to the B team and making his debut in the Malaga of the greats in the 2016/17 season. His career continued for another year in white and blue and then for a season and a half in the ranks of Leganes, but it was in January 2020 that the decisive turning point came.

In that transfer window, in fact, he moved to Sevilla for 20 million euros. In the Andalusian club he became an absolute offensive reference, scoring a total of 73 goals in 196 appearances. Some of these were particularly important: the home brace against Manchester United and the away goal against Juventus, in fact, were decisive for the conquest of the Europa League – the second of his career, after the one in 2020 when he beat Inter in the final – last season.

At the same time, he is also a key figure in the Moroccan national team. He is in fact one of the absolute leaders – with some decisive goals – at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when the Atlas Lions stopped just short of triumph, being beaten in the semi-final by France (then defeated in the final act by Argentina on penalties).

Speed, physicality and goals
In recent years, En-Nesyri has established himself as a very respectable striker in the European football scene. With good speed and physical structure, he knows how to assert himself both on the counterattack, ranging across the entire offensive front, and in the area when he has to head the ball or otherwise fight with opposing defenders. His contract expires in 2025, and Sevilla would like to sell him in the summer to avoid losing him for free. There is no shortage of competition for Roma – there is talk of Fenerbahce, offers from Saudi Arabia and even an inquiry from Inter – but if white smoke comes through, it would be a really good move.