I can almost guarantee you will not find a 16 year old as good as him, and if you do,  I urge you email me and I will share it with the community. Marco is widely regarded as one of the hottest prospects in world football and many top clubs are interested. On Football Manager 2010 it is no different. He plays his trade at Italian side Pescaro Calcio as a centre midfielder, and has been dubbed by various journalists as the next Francesco Totti.

Stats

Verratti’s stats are already better than a lot of experienced players on the game and that says it all. His 11 for passing and creativity is very good for someone of his age, and with the right training these two stats will shoot up very quickly. His set pieces are more than special with 16+ for technique, corners, penalty taking and free kicks, this usually means a lot of assists and will should always get himself on the score sheet a few times a season. His comparison to Totti in real life is partly down to the flair and agility and this has been highlighted in Football Manager 2010. All round great stats for someone as young as he is and they can only get better with the right coaching and training.

Tactics

Marco Verratti is only 16 years old, and if you carry on following my blog you will find out that I do not like playing youngsters too early. I would recommend using Verratti as a sub if you are a big team, and bringing him on when you are in a comfortable position towards the end of the game to give him some experience and keep his match fitness. It is up to you, but I think it can really help. If you have a great centre mid or AMC at your club at a good age, Eg Fabregas at Arsenal, I suggest using the tutoring option in Football Manager 2010. This will reap great benefits for both players but especially Verratti as he will start to resemble his ‘mentor’ and become a great player. I also recommend putting him on a youth training schedule, or download Tug’s Training 2010 which can be found here http://tugstraining.co.nr/

Price

Marco Verratti starts the game with a value of around £200k. Pescaro Calcio are very reluctant to sell as he has such great potential, but usually a fee of between £300k and £400k will secure his services. I suggest getting the bid in as soon as possible as lots of other clubs come sniffing early on. I have bought him several times, including  Football Manager Live and he always becomes one of my star players.

My Rating: 7/10

Potential: 10/10