Udinese Calcio have had a plethora of valuable strikers in their ranks throughout history.
Perhaps the most notable name among them was and is club legend Antonio Di Natale.
Since July 2023, Udinese has been home to an up-and-coming striker named Lorenzo Lucca.
Lucca came on loan from Pisa after spending a period at Ajax in the Eredivisie before announcing his full transfer to Udinese in June 2024.
Since he arrived at Udinese, Lucca has consistently delivered convincing performances, especially this season, during which he has shone through his finishing abilities.
As a result, he is among the top goalscorers in Serie A.
At the time of writing, he has scored seven league goals in 19 games, almost equaling his total from last season.
Lucca has also been unlucky with the national Italian team so far.
Following his first call-up, he was injured and obliged to withdraw from the squad without playing.
Nevertheless, his performances and potential for progress will surely give him the chance to win a spot in the Italian squad very soon.
If he continues to progress and perform well in Serie A, he could become Italy’s favourite and top striker in the near future.
The 24-year-old striker has already played for a wide range of teams, which has undoubtedly given him a lot of experience and maturity.
At best, he can exploit this during his excellent run of form in Serie A.
This tactical analysis and Lorenzo Lucca scout report will explore the Italian striker’s abilities and identify why he is ranked among the top goalscorers this season.
At the same time, the analysis will illuminate his importance in Udinese’s tactics and how he is valuable not only in terms of finishing but also in terms of playmaking and creating space for the others.
Lorenzo Lucca Position, Roles & Traits
To begin with, Lucca is a striker whose danger can be noticed mainly inside the box since he is exceptional in the air and works very efficiently as a stationary striker whenever needed, knowing that he has the physical qualities needed to block defenders and win aerial and offensive duels against them.
Although he is not as fast as other strikers, he can usually easily hold and protect the ball.
He can also be very dangerous when running towards the goal.
More importantly, Lucca has been valuable late on, with his first-time accurate finishes helping Udinese win decisive points this season.
This remarkable confidence in his finishing abilities makes it easier for Lucca to keep shining in front of the goal and give his best to score more crucial goals.
Lucca can play as a main striker in a standard 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3.
He has been vital in the 3-5-2 used by Udinese throughout history and adopted by Kosta Runjaić this season.
In this regard, Lucca has been excellent so far in winning the duels related to long passes.
He’s always expected to win these balls and provide accurate passes, whether to the second striker near him or the players coming from behind.
Therefore, Lucca helps Udinese consistently reach the final third by flawlessly executing this role in almost every match.
Moreover, it is essential to know that Lucca can finish well in most situations and use first-time shots or after excluding his markers.
This means Lucca also masters playing with his back and knows how to protect the ball under pressure before turning and shooting or passing to a better-positioned teammate when needed.
The only aspect that Lucca can do well and is less exploited than the rest of the roles is his assist-making ability.
Lucca does not lack passing abilities, but he should work on accuracy and become more dangerous when making passes.
This can easily make him a more complete forward.
That said, the following pizza chart highlights his exceptional ability to wing aerial duels and his ability to position himself well inside the box to receive key passes or crosses.
However, work is still needed on numerous aspects, such as passing and dribbling.
Lorenzo Lucca Pizza Chart 2024/25
Lucca’s Finishing Skills & Goalscoring Talent
With 2.29 shots per match and 44.9% of them on target, Lucca has been capable of joining the leading goalscorers of Serie A with seven league goals.
If he continues his excellent form, especially in terms of finishing, he is expected to finish the season among the top five goalscorers.
Although Lucca touches the ball an average of only 3.87 times per match, he still presents a great danger to any defence.
He knows how to deal with complicated situations inside the box and is always present in the right spot to finish.
Lucca is key for Udinese in set pieces.
Corners and free kicks that require crosses and headers suit him well, and he rarely fails to exploit them well.
The following example highlights his ability to win the aerial duels with his markers in a way that looks too easy before directing the ball towards the opposite angle to confuse the goalkeeper.
This kind of finish is very important for strikers as it allows them to “save” their game even when they face teams that allow only tight spaces in open play.
Hiding behind a teammate and avoiding getting marked before the start of the play also highlights the player’s tactical intelligence and ability to confuse the opposition by hiding and then running towards the centre at the right time to meet the ball without being marked.
Lucca’s Finish Against Torino
Another very well-known action that made Lucca more remarkable as a striker is his goal action against Inter, which saw him do almost everything to score a magnificent goal.
This goal also shows that Lucca has a strong personality and can lead the team to get back into games as he did against Inter, as it is essential not to have negative or passive players inside the team, especially up front.
At the start of the action, Lucca noticed that Inter’s defence was high, and the possibility of launching a counterattack could be very dangerous.
Therefore, as soon as he received a pass, he put himself ahead of Francesco Acerbi, protected the ball, passed it to his teammate, and immediately turned to accelerate towards the box, waiting for a pass that arrived instantly.
This quick action eliminated Acerbi from the play, and Lucca could also dribble past Hakan Çalhanoğlu in a humiliating way.
Despite Stefan De Vrij’s disturbance and attempt to intercept the ball, Lucca could successfully finish the action thanks to an outstanding sliding shot inside the net.
Lorenzo Lucca’s Solo Effort Goal Against Inter
Although Lucca’s goals this season were mostly headers, a penalty and a few right-footed goals, Lucca has also been capable of scoring goals by deviating his teammates’ shots.
Some might think this might be accidental or just lucky, but strikers train to become clinical in this regard.
Some, like Lucca, purposely exploit the shots that come their way to confuse goalkeepers.
One perfect example of a goal scored this way is Pippo Inzaghi’s deflection of Andrea Pirlo’s free kick in the 2007 UEFA Champions League final against Liverpool.
Lucca has already scored many goals by changing the angle of the initial shot using his right foot to confuse the goalkeepers.
This crucial goal in a tough match against Lazio highlights the type of goal that Lucca masters and can use even further in Serie A whenever he gets the opportunity.
It requires a lot of intelligence, vision, and reactivity, as Lucca had to take a sliding shot to be as quick as the ball.
Lucca’s Finishing Against Lazio
Passing & Assist-Making
Even though the statistics do not support Lucca a lot in this regard, the existing footage shows that Lucca has the potential to be a much more crucial passer inside the box but only requires more work on this aspect with the coaching staff and the players.
Since Lucca is excellent with headers, he can be used more to assist Florian Thauvin or the midfielders coming from the back with headers.
Although he has not provided assists since 2023, the following assist example against Salernitana highlights Lucca’s excellent vision and his ability to use headers in the way he wants, knowing that he provided this final pass using a backward header, allowing his teammate to shoot without being marked at all.
Lucca’s Headed Assists
Furthermore, Lucca can create space for his teammates inside the box by retreating and providing passes, which would make things confusing for the opposing defence, as it did in the following example against Istra.
With an outside-of-the-foot pass, Lucca could put his teammate in a very suitable goalscoring situation as he broke the defensive line with that key pass.
Lucca’s Key Passes
Conclusion
Lorenzo Lucca can soon become one of Serie A’s best strikers.
Still, he needs to keep working hard to maintain his confidence and continue scoring important goals for his team.
This will ultimately make him a more valuable player and allow him to receive offers that suit him.
It is very likely that teams like Juventus, Milan and maybe Inter might battle to win the services of the Italian international very soon, especially if he carries his form into the second part of this season.
Moreover, Lucca deserves a chance with the Azzurri and has the potential to help them win games in the coming period, especially if he convinces Luciano Spalletti of his attacking abilities.
