Atalanta has always been one of the Italian clubs that works best with young players. They develop them in-house, nurture their talent, and if necessary move them away from the spotlight to allow them to mature without excessive pressure or responsibility; and when the time is right, they launch them into the big time. And they always get it right. Players developed in-house, but also those picked up from other clubs, taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the transfer market: among these, this summer saw the signing of Sergej Levak on a free transfer.
Getty ImagesLEVAK'S INTUITION AND HIS TOP-FLIGHT STATISTICS IN SERIE C
Atalanta beat off competition from abroad to sign the Croatian midfielder, born in 2006, who was a free agent following the expiry of his contract with Roma; The Nerazzurri have added him to the reserve team with the aim of giving him regular playing time in Serie C with the Under-23s, and today he has become a key player in Salvatore Bocchetti’s side, even earning a call-up from Palladino for the match against Udinese. After Dominic Vavassori – a striker with eight goals, another talent to watch – Levak is the top scorer in the league with seven goals (no other midfielder has scored as many as him in Group C).
LITTLE MILINKOVIC
Levak is a central midfielder in Atalanta’s Under-23 3-4-2-1 formation; he is right-footed and stands at 195 cm tall. If required, he can drop back a few metres to play as a defensive midfielder or be deployed in an advanced role in the attacking third. He has similar characteristics to former Lazio player Milinkovic-Savic: he is a strong tackler with excellent timing when breaking into the attack; in Rome, he was considered one of the best prospects in the youth system, but no financial agreement could be reached regarding his contract renewal.
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