Semih Kılıçsoy is a Turkish attacker who moved to Cagliari last summer on a one-season loan with the option to buy, coming from Beşiktaş.
The Türkiye international has been settling in progressively better, scoring two goals so far, with the latest goal particularly beautiful, highlighting his exceptional dribbling skills and excellent decision-making despite his young age.
The 20-year-old forward promises to become a much more clinical player with experience and hard work, as he has the skills to become a reliable attacking player in the near future.
That said, it would be crucial for him to convince everyone at Cagliari and excel in Serie A to continue his journey in Italy and keep playing at the highest level, rather than returning quickly to Beşiktaş at the end of his loan period.
To do so, it will be important for him to achieve regular goal contributions to further confirm his worth and become fundamental within Cagliari’s starting XI.
In this Semih Kılıçsoy scout report, I will explore Semih Kılıçsoy’s profile, strengths, weaknesses, and, more importantly, his potential as a striker.
Furthermore, the analysis will focus on Kılıçsoy’s best possible positions and the roles he can interpret, whether with Rossoblù or at his next club.
Semih Kılıçsoy Positions & Roles At Cagliari
Throughout the first seasons of his career, Kılıçsoy has been used in more than one position and was reliable not just as a striker but also as a left winger, left central midfielder, right winger, and advanced playmaker.
This means that Cagliari can use Kılıçsoy in any attacking position and benefit from his tactical flexibility.
Kılıçsoy was also used as a second striker within Cagliari’s playing system, with a main striker playing beside him.
This can be considered one of Kılıçsoy’s best positions, as it allows him to move more freely than when used as the main striker.
As a second striker, he plays close to the goal while avoiding tight marking thanks to his attacking teammate, and that favours Kılıçsoy’s dribbling and penetration abilities.
It was not a surprise that Kılıçsoy was mainly capable of scoring goals when he was used as a second striker with Cagliari.
Kılıçsoy masters the role of a main striker with ease and that of a second striker with even greater ease, since he is an agile and very dynamic player.
Furthermore, Kılıçsoy proved during his spell at Beşiktaş that he can be extremely useful in terms of playmaking and assist-making.
This is an important asset that Cagliari and, eventually, Kılıçsoy’s next teams should consider, given that Kılıçsoy is a player with excellent vision and key passing abilities.
That makes him a very good fit for a midfield role, mainly as an advanced playmaker.
Given his profile and abilities, using Kılıçsoy as an advanced playmaker promises to be the best use of this player, as it exploits his full potential and makes him extremely valuable, whether in terms of passing or penetrations towards the box.
Semih Kılıçsoy excels in both passing and penetration, as he knows how to control the ball and protect it in tight spaces and while being marked, something not all strikers can do.
That’s why using Kılıçsoy as an advanced playmaker behind the main striker or behind an attacking duo would be the best use of the Turkish player.
Based on the following pizza chart and footage of Semih Kılıçsoy’s previously scored goals, we can confirm that Kılıçsoy can become a crucial finisher for Cagliari, as he has the goalscoring instinct needed to deal with complicated situations inside the box.
He proved on more than one occasion that he can convert complicated passes to goals even when being marked.
His ability and tendency to escape from marking and anticipate defenders give him the advantage during such situations.
Added to that, coordinating his body efficiently and using the needed shooting technique according to the situation makes him a good finisher who can succeed in Serie A.
Whether using volleys, half-volleys, outside of the foot shots, or regular powerful shots, Kılıçsoy has already proven that he can use these techniques with success and be able to surprise goalkeepers with such shots.
The player’s pizza chart from last season highlights that Semih Kılıçsoy can contribute more to goal involvement and should improve his positioning, while also confirming that he is capable of regularly providing dangerous passes.
Fabio Pisacane will need to use Semih Kılıçsoy in a way that encourages him to make more dangerous passes per match and to exploit the player’s excellent vision and passing technique.
Even if the head coach wants to keep Kılıçsoy as a striker and not use him behind the striker, he can instruct him to retreat more often (especially if playing in an attacking duo) and provide key passes.
Semih Kılıçsoy has the potential to be as dangerous as Lautaro Martínez, especially in terms of passing and playmaking, as he shares some similarities with the Argentinian striker.
More importantly, Kılıçsoy can be more creative in terms of dribbling, and that’s what the pizza chart confirms.
He needs to use that efficiently to help him create goalscoring situations for himself or for his teammates, just like he did during the famous goalscoring action against Torino.
Semih Kılıçsoy Pizza Chart 2024/2025
Semih Kılıçsoy Attacking Talent
Although his goalscoring numbers were not yet outstanding, Semih Kılıçsoy proved at Beşiktaş that he can score from various complicated situations.
His quick reactions and anticipations to his direct markers’ movements are one of his traits and are something that helps him a lot in winning offensive duels and getting to touch the ball first.
Being a striker with limited height compared to other tall strikers obliges Kılıçsoy to rely extensively on anticipatory movements without the ball, dribbling, and physical strength to beat defenders in duels and to have chances to shoot on goal or create any sort of threat.
In reality, he excels in using his traits and makes up for not having the advantage of height by relying on volleys, half-volleys, and effective dribbling.
Semih Kılıçsoy Half-Volley Finishing
During this action, he gets away from marking by anticipating his direct marker and coordinating his body before receiving the ball, to surprise both the defender and the goalkeeper with a very powerful and precise shot.
Shooting with accuracy and power from such situations is another trait that Semih Kılıçsoy masters, one that not all strikers are good at: finishing with power without overlooking accuracy.
Semih Kılıçsoy Physical Strength In Duels
Semih Kılıçsoy might seem like an average striker, with little power to beat opponents in duels or handle complex situations, such as playing with his back to the goal and resisting tight marking and disruption.
However, the opposite is true: Kılıçsoy is a very balanced player with excellent stamina and physical strength that allow him to avoid falling quickly, run with the ball without losing it, and resist defenders’ disruption when protecting the ball with his back to the goal.
All these qualities make Kılıçsoy extremely dangerous when used as a stationary striker and when he needs to exploit spaces behind the defensive line despite being marked.
The following example highlights his ability to beat defenders in such duels and attack the space behind the defensive line after fixing his direct opponent with his back to the goal, turning soon after to control the ball.
This allowed him to avoid that direct opponent successfully and run freely with the ball until he reached the edge of the box, where he was facing two other defenders.
Despite both defenders trying to limit his shooting options, Semih Kılıçsoy still managed to create a trajectory for himself by leaning slightly to the right and pretending to pass the ball to his teammate on the right before surprising everyone with a powerful shot towards the opposite angle between the two defenders.
Semih Kılıçsoy Solo-Effort Goals
Semih Kılıçsoy is a player who is not dependent on his teammates’ presence to score goals and is someone who knows how to find the way to scoring even when being in a situation during which most regular strikers tend to opt for simple passing to one of their teammates and positioning themselves inside the box to wait for a pass or a cross.
Instead, Semih Kılıçsoy proved on more than one occasion that he has the capacity to create goal-scoring chances for himself even when being surrounded by opponents and without concrete support from his teammates.
In these situations, Semih Kılıçsoy often resorts to dribbling past players and tries to advance gradually with calculated dribbles, meaning that he does not advance and try to dribble past opponents if he notices that there is no way out.
This means that Kılıçsoy dribbles intelligently and knows when he can dribble and when he should pass the ball instead.
Whenever he notices that defenders are a bit distant from each other and are allowing some space, he does not hesitate to use his explosive penetrations to exclude defenders one by one and create goalscoring situations for himself.
The goalscoring action against Torino was based on his explosive penetration, excellent ball control, and variety in dribbling, which allowed him to get past two Torino defenders before using a body feint to avoid two other defenders and shoot on target with his left foot.
Scoring using his left foot was also unexpected from the goalkeeper, and that represents another trait that Semih Kılıçsoy should continue using to confuse defenders and goalkeepers.
Semih Kılıçsoy Assist-Making
It is true that Semih Kılıçsoy has yet to provide assists for Cagliari; however, he was very useful with key passes at Beşiktaş.
The fact that Kılıçsoy is finding fewer spaces at Cagliari and is used more often as a striker is preventing him from exploiting his key passing abilities in an extensive way.
Instructing him to retreat more often would be suitable for exploiting his key passing skills, in case the head coach does not want to use him in an advanced playmaker or a winger position.
Kılıçsoy can be very dangerous with passing and has a unique style of providing passes, and that can make him unpredictable in this regard.
The following picture shows Kılıçsoy executing a half-volley assist from midfield to his attacking teammates, providing a powerful yet very accurate through pass in space that meets the striker at the perfect spot and timing.
Getting the chance to provide such passes, using his left and right foot rather than just his right, can only bring more attacking variety to Cagliari and surprise their opponents.
That’s why it will be important for Cagliari to explore Kılıçsoy’s passing abilities more often and encourage him to retreat and attempt key passes more regularly.
Conclusion
Cagliari needs to use Semih Kılıçsoy in the best possible way, as the Turkish player is an emerging talent who could become one of Serie A’s best attacking players in the near future.
Exploring his passing abilities further and improving his positioning and finishing accuracy will definitely help Kılıçsoy progress and become a more valuable forward, as he has what it takes to succeed in Serie A, especially with some more adaptation time.
And if things go well until the end of the season, Cagliari should not let Kılıçsoy return definitively to Beşiktaş.
They will have to exercise their option to buy as soon as possible, something they are already considering, according to recent rumours.
