What you need to know about Valentin Carboni, the Argentinian nugget that OM likes

The summer is off to a strong start for Olympique de Marseille. With Roberto De Zerbi as the new coach of the Phocéens, the transfer window is ambitious for next season. For the moment, Lilian Brassier (Brest) and Ismaël Koné (Watford) have arrived and new ones like Alvaro Vallés (Las Palmas) and Mason Greenwood (Manchester United) are close. Another name that comes up a lot is that of Valentin Carboni (19 years old). The attacking midfielder belongs to Inter Milan and is coming off a convincing season with Monza. Having arrived at the Nerazzurri in 2021, Valentin Carboni quickly convinced the Lombard club. In the 2021/2022 season, he won the Primavera with Inter Milan, being an important player and having a full season (7 goals and 8 assists in 32 matches) alongside Martin Satriano (on loan to Brest), Cesare Casadei (Chelsea), Mattia Zanotti and his older brother Franco Carboni (his little brother Cristiano plays in the youth team) who is a left-back.

Playing 6 matches last year with the first team and notably making his Champions League debut against Bayern Munich, Valentin Carboni quickly caught the eye of Simone Inzaghi who regularly incorporated him into the Nerazzurri squad. However, blocked by strong competition, he had to go on loan last season to Monza. A choice that paid off since he had a solid season. Alternating between attacking midfielder and right winger, he scored 2 goals and provided 4 assists in 32 matches. Technically gifted and creative, the man who is sometimes compared to Paulo Dybala has not been forgotten by his coach Simone Inzaghi: “Valentin Carboni? He had an important year with us last year and has always trained with great players. I have had him play alternately as a centre-forward and a nine-and-a-half and he has always given answers. This year he has more continuity and is doing well. We will make the appropriate assessments at the end of the season.»

Validated by Lione Messi

In the meantime, having become an Argentinian international last March against Costa Rica (3-1), he had been regularly called up like other great talents such as Alejandro Garnacho in the Albiceleste list in order to rub shoulders with the first team. It is no coincidence that the two men are now potential internationals. This time, a starter on June 15th during a friendly against Guatemala, he had managed to stand out just before the Copa América and had received encouragement from his coach Lionel Scaloni: “I expected Carboni to play a game like that. He is a young player who still has a lot of room for improvement. He played a good game. Which is difficult for him given the context. We are satisfied with his game and it is clear that he is a player who can give us a helping hand.» Although he only played 13 minutes against Peru in the Copa America, he is just one game away from winning his first trophy with his country as Argentina will face Colombia in the final.

In addition to his coach, his teammate and captain Lionel Messi is also fond of the football offered by his youngest: “he will have a great future. It is the present, but also the future. I have already seen him in U20, but he has improved. He is a different player of exceptional quality.» Praised from all sides, Valentin Carboni is nevertheless caught up by the strong competition at Inter Milan. In midfield, Piotr Zielinski arrived when no one seems to be leaving among Kristjan Asllani, Nicolo Barella, Hakan Çalhanoglu, Davide Frattesi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Able to also play across the entire attacking front, Valentin Carboni is also blocked by Lautaro Martinez, Marcus Thuram, Marko Arnautovic and future recruit Mehdi Taremi. From then on, his departure from Inter Milan despite his contract until June 2028 is possible and Olympique de Marseille is trying to take advantage of it as we revealed to you. If discussions continue between the parties, everything should accelerate from next week when the Copa América is over.