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5 YOUNG PROMISING STRIKERS BORN IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM

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Aggiornamento Numerazioni Maglie Primavera 1 2024/2025

ROSA DEI 25 LECCE 01_05_2025

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&lt;p&gt;Quagliarella, Immobile (twice) and Cristiano Ronaldo were the last top scorers in Serie A TIM before Osimhen, the only under 30 to earn the accolade among goalscorers in the Italian top-flight’s past five editions. Together with the Nigerian, who was born in 1998, Lautaro Martinez (97`) and Vlahovic (2000) have taken the baton from the old dynasty of goalscorers that dominated our game. Meanwhile, a new generation of talent is ready to blossom.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Out of all the strikers born in the new millennium who are shining this season, the brightest stars are certainly Soulè (2023) and Zirkzee (2001), who we have already talked about here, while the Juventus player, Yıldız, seems to be the next young gem. Alongside them, there is also &lt;strong&gt;Lucca, Okafor, De Ketelaere, Beltrán&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;and &lt;strong&gt;Maldini&lt;/strong&gt;, all intent on leaving their mark in this Serie A TIM.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Lorenzo Lucca&lt;/strong&gt;, born in 2000 and developed in the junior ranks at Torino, made his first steps in 6th tier football (&lt;em&gt;Promozione)&lt;/em&gt; and at the age of 17 had already make a fleeting appearance in Serie C with Lanerossi Vicenza. Making his way through the Primavera teams at Brescia and Torino, in January 2020 he embarked for Palermo, who were plying their trade in Serie D at the time, where he managed to score a goal in the 60 minutes he was used. It was just an appetiser and in his second season with the Rosanero - with 13 goals in 27 appearances in Serie C - Lorenzo caught the attention of &lt;strong&gt;Pisa&lt;/strong&gt;, who brought him in in their promotion push to Serie A TIM. The start of the season in Serie B was a dream: Lucca scored a brace on matchday 2 against Alessandria and kept on scoring, getting &lt;strong&gt;six goals in seven games&lt;/strong&gt;. It was enough to convince &lt;strong&gt;Ajax&lt;/strong&gt; to sign him for the following year: the transfer was pioneering and the boy from Moncalieri became the &lt;strong&gt;first Italian footballer &lt;/strong&gt;to wear the historic club’s shirt. The Dutch adventure, however, lasted only one season, in which Lorenzo played mainly with Ajax Jong - the reserve team - collecting only 136 minutes in the Eredivisie with the first team, but still grabbing two goals and one assist in the short he was called upon. The call from &lt;strong&gt;Udinese&lt;/strong&gt; in the summer opened the doors for him to Serie A TIM for the first time and Lucca found himself on Friulian soil, &lt;strong&gt;becoming the Friulians` top scorer&lt;/strong&gt; with a tally of seven goals and three assists in the league, plus one goal in the Frecciarossa Coppa Italia. He also scored with both his right foot and head, achieving his first double in Serie A against Hellas Verona.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;figure data-asset-id=&#34;febad481-2406-4f5b-9bb6-8e02238e6a68&#34; data-image-id=&#34;febad481-2406-4f5b-9bb6-8e02238e6a68&#34;&gt;&lt;img src=&#34;https://assets-eu-01.kc-usercontent.com:443/6be6dbcf-fd70-012d-ec80-2d3245f5ce6a/18bf9e9e-a5c9-407a-b102-d1a261744a56/Sito_HERO_lucca.png&#34; data-asset-id=&#34;febad481-2406-4f5b-9bb6-8e02238e6a68&#34; data-image-id=&#34;febad481-2406-4f5b-9bb6-8e02238e6a68&#34; alt=&#34;&#34;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;Star of Club Brugge`s academy, &lt;strong&gt;Charles De Ketelaere&lt;/strong&gt; made his debut in the first-team debut for them in the 2020/21 season, managing to score three goals in the JP League and two in the Champions League. In the following year, the player, born 2000, stole the show with a repertoire of through passes, dribbles and darting finishes which resulted in him contributing with 14 goals and seven assists in Brugge`s third consecutive league title triumph. The transfer to &lt;strong&gt;AC Milan&lt;/strong&gt; generated great expectations for the young Flemish player, who in his first year in Italy was unable to perform as he would have liked, concluding the season with the Rossoneri with just one assist in 32 appearances, many as a substitute. Seeking a reboot, Charles moved to Bergamo where, under &lt;strong&gt;Gasperini`s&lt;/strong&gt; guidance, has found a new lease of life. Since mid-December, in particular, De Ketelaere has taken off, maintaining an average of goal area involvement only lower than Mbappè in Europe. With &lt;strong&gt;six goals &lt;/strong&gt;and&lt;strong&gt; six assists&lt;/strong&gt; in the league, plus two goals per competition in the Europa League and the Frecciarossa Coppa Italia, the Nerazzurri striker seems to have found the ideal environment at Atalanta to best express his talent.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;figure data-asset-id=&#34;cde7bd3a-c97f-4385-a525-5e72fcf78fb7&#34; data-image-id=&#34;cde7bd3a-c97f-4385-a525-5e72fcf78fb7&#34;&gt;&lt;img src=&#34;https://assets-eu-01.kc-usercontent.com:443/6be6dbcf-fd70-012d-ec80-2d3245f5ce6a/4258b6eb-b116-45ec-b4c4-dbdbeabd8032/Sito_HERO_CDK.png&#34; data-asset-id=&#34;cde7bd3a-c97f-4385-a525-5e72fcf78fb7&#34; data-image-id=&#34;cde7bd3a-c97f-4385-a525-5e72fcf78fb7&#34; alt=&#34;&#34;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Noah Okafor&lt;/strong&gt;, a promising player from Basel`s youth team, played for two years in the Swiss Super League before being noticed by the wide network of observers from &lt;strong&gt;Red Bull Salzburg&lt;/strong&gt;, a team he joined in the 2019/20 season. With the red and whites, the Swiss winger, born in 2000, began a gradual and constant growth in a new role for him - a &lt;strong&gt;second striker&lt;/strong&gt; alongside the centre forward. Noah’s modest first season, scoring three times in the league, was then improved year-on-year, with six in his second, nine in the Bundesliga and three in the Champions League in the third, and ten (of which three were in the Champions League) in the fourth. In addition to the numbers in front of goal, Okafor`s added value was also seen in providing &lt;strong&gt;23 assists&lt;/strong&gt; to his teammates in the four years spent with the Austrian Red Bull outfit. A member of the Swiss national team, he participated in the World Cup in Qatar, after eliminating Italy in the qualifying stages. Noah joined AC Milan as back-up to Leao. In his season with the Rossoneri, so far, Noah has been more incisive than the numbers suggest: out of the five goals and one assist in 21 appearances (with only six games as a starter), Okafor has scored &lt;strong&gt;four goals&lt;/strong&gt; as a substitute, including the &lt;a href=&#34;https://youtu.be/6UnO1v-lFFU&#34; data-new-window=&#34;true&#34; target=&#34;_blank&#34; rel=&#34;noopener noreferrer&#34;&gt;decisive goals against Cagliari&lt;/a&gt;, Lazio and Udinese. No player has scored more than him starting from the bench in this league campaign, demonstrating how the Swiss striker`s talent is a precious resource for Stefano Pioli.one di quanto l’estro dell’attaccante svizzero sia una risorsa preziosa a disposizione di Pioli.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;figure data-asset-id=&#34;95e1faf6-5e1e-4ef7-bf3b-a58736934c6d&#34; data-image-id=&#34;95e1faf6-5e1e-4ef7-bf3b-a58736934c6d&#34;&gt;&lt;img src=&#34;https://assets-eu-01.kc-usercontent.com:443/6be6dbcf-fd70-012d-ec80-2d3245f5ce6a/c3b2115a-bd7c-4573-8396-f5a8b3e2e799/Sito_HERO_Okafor.png&#34; data-asset-id=&#34;95e1faf6-5e1e-4ef7-bf3b-a58736934c6d&#34; data-image-id=&#34;95e1faf6-5e1e-4ef7-bf3b-a58736934c6d&#34; alt=&#34;&#34;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Lucas Beltrán&lt;/strong&gt; was born in Cordoba on 27 March 2001 and took his first steps in football there being scouted by &lt;strong&gt;River Plate&lt;/strong&gt;, who took him to the capital at 15 years old. In 2021, he went out on loan to Colon de Santa Fe, where he scored six goals in the league and cup competition. He returned to River to fight for his chance with &#34;Los Millonarios&#34;, and after needing time to get settled in in the first semester, the &#34;&lt;strong&gt;Viking&lt;/strong&gt;&#34; led the club to win the &lt;strong&gt;Liga Argentina&lt;/strong&gt; in the following season with twelve goals and another three in the Copa Libertadores. In the summer, his move to Europe materialised and he joined the Viola: while the Argentine striker settled into Italian football, Christmas was approaching and with the festive air arounf the first gifts came for &lt;strong&gt;Fiorentina&lt;/strong&gt; in the form of important goals. In December, he found the net three times, which then extended to &lt;strong&gt;six&lt;/strong&gt; in 2024, demonstrating his keen eye for goal in the penalty area. Beltrán`s first goal came from a &lt;strong&gt;penalty &lt;/strong&gt;against Salernitana - he is still the only Viola forward, together with Sottil, not to have missed from the twelve-yard mark this season - while against Hellas Verona and Monza he tucked away the decisive goals for the three points.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;figure data-asset-id=&#34;aa28a070-12c8-4ac3-aa13-f31ff27de5b8&#34; data-image-id=&#34;aa28a070-12c8-4ac3-aa13-f31ff27de5b8&#34;&gt;&lt;img src=&#34;https://assets-eu-01.kc-usercontent.com:443/6be6dbcf-fd70-012d-ec80-2d3245f5ce6a/75dadccd-ce0c-4483-b108-73bca786f2e8/Sito_HERO_Beltran.png&#34; data-asset-id=&#34;aa28a070-12c8-4ac3-aa13-f31ff27de5b8&#34; data-image-id=&#34;aa28a070-12c8-4ac3-aa13-f31ff27de5b8&#34; alt=&#34;&#34;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Daniel Maldini &lt;/strong&gt;is one of the revelations of the last few weeks in Serie A TIM. Born in 2001, he began the season with Empoli but in January moved to Monza in search of minutes and new stimuli. In Brianza, Daniel is perfectly at ease in the role of &lt;strong&gt;attacking&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;strong&gt;midfielder&lt;/strong&gt;, supporting the lone striker, seen in the new 4-2-3-1 formation used by Palladino. In his second appearance for the Biancorossi, the AC Milan loanee provided the &lt;strong&gt;assist&lt;/strong&gt; for Bondo`s game-clinching goal against his family’s team, while in his third appearance he got his &lt;strong&gt;first goal&lt;/strong&gt; to break the deadlock against Salernitana: Maldini put his side ahead with a splendid one-two at pace with Gagliardini and finished off in style placing the ball into the bottom corner opposite Ochoa. The goal galvanised Paolo`s son, who repeated the feat in Genoa by turning home the rebound from a Martinez save to bring home three golden points. And finally, he produced &lt;a href=&#34;https://youtu.be/BnWuDCeAA4g&#34; data-new-window=&#34;true&#34; target=&#34;_blank&#34; rel=&#34;noopener noreferrer&#34;&gt;a piece of magic against Cagliari&lt;/a&gt;, on his first start, a remote-controlled &lt;strong&gt;free-kick&lt;/strong&gt; that hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced in behind an innocent Scuffet. With three goals in 149 minutes to his name, an &lt;strong&gt;average&lt;/strong&gt; of one goal every 50 minutes, Daniel`s impact in Brianza has given hope to the Biancorossi fans who dream of a historic qualification in Europe.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;figure data-asset-id=&#34;b4555a54-1b76-41cb-aabd-984cdde601c0&#34; data-image-id=&#34;b4555a54-1b76-41cb-aabd-984cdde601c0&#34;&gt;&lt;img src=&#34;https://assets-eu-01.kc-usercontent.com:443/6be6dbcf-fd70-012d-ec80-2d3245f5ce6a/d26948f7-1389-41db-95eb-ebc913369189/Sito_HERO_Maldini.png&#34; data-asset-id=&#34;b4555a54-1b76-41cb-aabd-984cdde601c0&#34; data-image-id=&#34;b4555a54-1b76-41cb-aabd-984cdde601c0&#34; alt=&#34;&#34;&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;p&gt;(Photo LaPresse)&lt;/p&gt;

Lucca, Okafor, De Ketelaere, Beltran and Maldini are 5 forwards who are making an impression in this season’s Serie A TIM, and who were all born since the year 2000. Let`s find out the numbers and secrets of their rise

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Quagliarella, Immobile (twice) and Cristiano Ronaldo were the last top scorers in Serie A TIM before Osimhen, the only under 30 to earn the accolade among goalscorers in the Italian top-flight’s past five editions. Together with the Nigerian, who was born in 1998, Lautaro Martinez (97`) and Vlahovic (2000) have taken the baton from the old dynasty of goalscorers that dominated our game. Meanwhile, a new generation of talent is ready to blossom.Out of all the strikers born in the new millennium who are shining this season, the brightest stars are certainly Soulè (2023) and Zirkzee (2001), who we have already talked about here, while the Juventus player, Yıldız, seems to be the next young gem. Alongside them, there is also Lucca, Okafor, De Ketelaere, Beltrán&nbsp;and Maldini, all intent on leaving their mark in this Serie A TIM.Lorenzo Lucca, born in 2000 and developed in the junior ranks at Torino, made his first steps in 6th tier football (Promozione) and at the age of 17 had already make a fleeting appearance in Serie C with Lanerossi Vicenza. Making his way through the Primavera teams at Brescia and Torino, in January 2020 he embarked for Palermo, who were plying their trade in Serie D at the time, where he managed to score a goal in the 60 minutes he was used. It was just an appetiser and in his second season with the Rosanero - with 13 goals in 27 appearances in Serie C - Lorenzo caught the attention of Pisa, who brought him in in their promotion push to Serie A TIM. The start of the season in Serie B was a dream: Lucca scored a brace on matchday 2 against Alessandria and kept on scoring, getting six goals in seven games. It was enough to convince Ajax to sign him for the following year: the transfer was pioneering and the boy from Moncalieri became the first Italian footballer to wear the historic club’s shirt. The Dutch adventure, however, lasted only one season, in which Lorenzo played mainly with Ajax Jong - the reserve team - collecting only 136 minutes in the Eredivisie with the first team, but still grabbing two goals and one assist in the short he was called upon. The call from Udinese in the summer opened the doors for him to Serie A TIM for the first time and Lucca found himself on Friulian soil, becoming the Friulians` top scorer with a tally of seven goals and three assists in the league, plus one goal in the Frecciarossa Coppa Italia. He also scored with both his right foot and head, achieving his first double in Serie A against Hellas Verona.<figure data-asset-id="febad481-2406-4f5b-9bb6-8e02238e6a68" data-image-id="febad481-2406-4f5b-9bb6-8e02238e6a68"><img src="https://assets-eu-01.kc-usercontent.com:443/6be6dbcf-fd70-012d-ec80-2d3245f5ce6a/18bf9e9e-a5c9-407a-b102-d1a261744a56/Sito_HERO_lucca.png" data-asset-id="febad481-2406-4f5b-9bb6-8e02238e6a68" data-image-id="febad481-2406-4f5b-9bb6-8e02238e6a68" alt=""></figure>Star of Club Brugge`s academy, Charles De Ketelaere made his debut in the first-team debut for them in the 2020/21 season, managing to score three goals in the JP League and two in the Champions League. In the following year, the player, born 2000, stole the show with a repertoire of through passes, dribbles and darting finishes which resulted in him contributing with 14 goals and seven assists in Brugge`s third consecutive league title triumph. The transfer to AC Milan generated great expectations for the young Flemish player, who in his first year in Italy was unable to perform as he would have liked, concluding the season with the Rossoneri with just one assist in 32 appearances, many as a substitute. Seeking a reboot, Charles moved to Bergamo where, under Gasperini`s guidance, has found a new lease of life. Since mid-December, in particular, De Ketelaere has taken off, maintaining an average of goal area involvement only lower than Mbappè in Europe. With six goals and six assists in the league, plus two goals per competition in the Europa League and the Frecciarossa Coppa Italia, the Nerazzurri striker seems to have found the ideal environment at Atalanta to best express his talent.<figure data-asset-id="cde7bd3a-c97f-4385-a525-5e72fcf78fb7" data-image-id="cde7bd3a-c97f-4385-a525-5e72fcf78fb7"><img src="https://assets-eu-01.kc-usercontent.com:443/6be6dbcf-fd70-012d-ec80-2d3245f5ce6a/4258b6eb-b116-45ec-b4c4-dbdbeabd8032/Sito_HERO_CDK.png" data-asset-id="cde7bd3a-c97f-4385-a525-5e72fcf78fb7" data-image-id="cde7bd3a-c97f-4385-a525-5e72fcf78fb7" alt=""></figure>Noah Okafor, a promising player from Basel`s youth team, played for two years in the Swiss Super League before being noticed by the wide network of observers from Red Bull Salzburg, a team he joined in the 2019/20 season. With the red and whites, the Swiss winger, born in 2000, began a gradual and constant growth in a new role for him - a second striker alongside the centre forward. Noah’s modest first season, scoring three times in the league, was then improved year-on-year, with six in his second, nine in the Bundesliga and three in the Champions League in the third, and ten (of which three were in the Champions League) in the fourth. In addition to the numbers in front of goal, Okafor`s added value was also seen in providing 23 assists to his teammates in the four years spent with the Austrian Red Bull outfit. A member of the Swiss national team, he participated in the World Cup in Qatar, after eliminating Italy in the qualifying stages. Noah joined AC Milan as back-up to Leao. In his season with the Rossoneri, so far, Noah has been more incisive than the numbers suggest: out of the five goals and one assist in 21 appearances (with only six games as a starter), Okafor has scored four goals as a substitute, including the <a href="https://youtu.be/6UnO1v-lFFU" data-new-window="true" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">decisive goals against Cagliari</a>, Lazio and Udinese. No player has scored more than him starting from the bench in this league campaign, demonstrating how the Swiss striker`s talent is a precious resource for Stefano Pioli.one di quanto l’estro dell’attaccante svizzero sia una risorsa preziosa a disposizione di Pioli.<figure data-asset-id="95e1faf6-5e1e-4ef7-bf3b-a58736934c6d" data-image-id="95e1faf6-5e1e-4ef7-bf3b-a58736934c6d"><img src="https://assets-eu-01.kc-usercontent.com:443/6be6dbcf-fd70-012d-ec80-2d3245f5ce6a/c3b2115a-bd7c-4573-8396-f5a8b3e2e799/Sito_HERO_Okafor.png" data-asset-id="95e1faf6-5e1e-4ef7-bf3b-a58736934c6d" data-image-id="95e1faf6-5e1e-4ef7-bf3b-a58736934c6d" alt=""></figure>Lucas Beltrán was born in Cordoba on 27 March 2001 and took his first steps in football there being scouted by River Plate, who took him to the capital at 15 years old. In 2021, he went out on loan to Colon de Santa Fe, where he scored six goals in the league and cup competition. He returned to River to fight for his chance with "Los Millonarios", and after needing time to get settled in in the first semester, the "Viking" led the club to win the Liga Argentina in the following season with twelve goals and another three in the Copa Libertadores. In the summer, his move to Europe materialised and he joined the Viola: while the Argentine striker settled into Italian football, Christmas was approaching and with the festive air arounf the first gifts came for Fiorentina in the form of important goals. In December, he found the net three times, which then extended to six in 2024, demonstrating his keen eye for goal in the penalty area. Beltrán`s first goal came from a penalty against Salernitana - he is still the only Viola forward, together with Sottil, not to have missed from the twelve-yard mark this season - while against Hellas Verona and Monza he tucked away the decisive goals for the three points.<figure data-asset-id="aa28a070-12c8-4ac3-aa13-f31ff27de5b8" data-image-id="aa28a070-12c8-4ac3-aa13-f31ff27de5b8"><img src="https://assets-eu-01.kc-usercontent.com:443/6be6dbcf-fd70-012d-ec80-2d3245f5ce6a/75dadccd-ce0c-4483-b108-73bca786f2e8/Sito_HERO_Beltran.png" data-asset-id="aa28a070-12c8-4ac3-aa13-f31ff27de5b8" data-image-id="aa28a070-12c8-4ac3-aa13-f31ff27de5b8" alt=""></figure>Daniel Maldini is one of the revelations of the last few weeks in Serie A TIM. Born in 2001, he began the season with Empoli but in January moved to Monza in search of minutes and new stimuli. In Brianza, Daniel is perfectly at ease in the role of attacking midfielder, supporting the lone striker, seen in the new 4-2-3-1 formation used by Palladino. In his second appearance for the Biancorossi, the AC Milan loanee provided the assist for Bondo`s game-clinching goal against his family’s team, while in his third appearance he got his first goal to break the deadlock against Salernitana: Maldini put his side ahead with a splendid one-two at pace with Gagliardini and finished off in style placing the ball into the bottom corner opposite Ochoa. The goal galvanised Paolo`s son, who repeated the feat in Genoa by turning home the rebound from a Martinez save to bring home three golden points. And finally, he produced <a href="https://youtu.be/BnWuDCeAA4g" data-new-window="true" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a piece of magic against Cagliari</a>, on his first start, a remote-controlled free-kick that hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced in behind an innocent Scuffet. With three goals in 149 minutes to his name, an average of one goal every 50 minutes, Daniel`s impact in Brianza has given hope to the Biancorossi fans who dream of a historic qualification in Europe.<figure data-asset-id="b4555a54-1b76-41cb-aabd-984cdde601c0" data-image-id="b4555a54-1b76-41cb-aabd-984cdde601c0"><img src="https://assets-eu-01.kc-usercontent.com:443/6be6dbcf-fd70-012d-ec80-2d3245f5ce6a/d26948f7-1389-41db-95eb-ebc913369189/Sito_HERO_Maldini.png" data-asset-id="b4555a54-1b76-41cb-aabd-984cdde601c0" data-image-id="b4555a54-1b76-41cb-aabd-984cdde601c0" alt=""></figure>(Photo LaPresse)

5 YOUNG PROMISING STRIKERS BORN IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM | News

5 YOUNG PROMISING STRIKERS BORN IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM

Lucca, Okafor, De Ketelaere, Beltran and Maldini are 5 forwards who are making an impression in this season’s Serie A TIM, and who were all born since the year 2000. Let`s find out the numbers and secrets of their rise

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5 YOUNG PROMISING STRIKERS BORN IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM | News