France FIFA World Cup Star Outshines Expectations More Than Any Other Player In Serie A | OneFootball

Inter Milan’s Marcus Thuram has earned plaudits as the player to have most exceeded expectations in Serie A this season.

Today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInterNews, contend that the Frenchman has been the “surprise package” of the campaign.

It is not as though Thuram arrived at Inter with low expectations.

Very much the contrary. Even though the Frenchman signed on a free transfer, he came with a big reputation, big wages, and with Inter having seen plenty of competition.

Nevertheless, the expectation was not necessarily for Thuram to hit the ground running.

For one thing, the 26-year-old had never played in Serie A before arriving at Inter.

And moreover, and even more importantly, Thuram was adjusting to a new role in a new team.

Thuram had played a variety of attacking positions during his career prior to joining Inter.

But the 26-year-old had to get up to speed tactically in a big way to become an out-and-out centre-forward – particularly in a team that play a rather unusual 3-5-2 system.

Marcus Thuram Exceeds Expectations In Serie A

But get up to speed is what Thuram did. And very quickly.

The Frenchman has found the 3-5-2 formation of Inter coach Simone Inzaghi to be the perfect environment in which to make the most of his qualities.

Thuram was therefore scoring and assisting goals virtually right away.

There were key goals against the likes of Fiorentina, AC Milan, and Roma, among others.

It is very possible that Inter would never have been able to launch themselves into orbit at the top of the Serie A table without Thuram’s decisive contributions.

In recent weeks Thuram had gone off the boil a bit. This coincided with a return from his first muscle injury of the season.

But the 26-year-old got on the scoresheet for the first time in two months against Cagliari.

That takes Thuram’s total to eleven goals and seven assists.

The Frenchman’s earlier form was no mere hot streak or flash in the pan. He has been one of Serie A’s outstanding performers in his first season in the division.