Santiago Castro Scout Report At AS Roma 2026/2027: Can Gian Piero Gasperini Tactics Make Roma's New No. 9 A Star? – Player Analysis

Who Is Santiago Castro?

Santiago Castro is AS Roma's new No. 9.

The Argentinian has joined the Eternal City club for a reported €35m, having spent the last two seasons at Serie A rivals Bologna.

Gian Piero Gasperini didn't have much luck with strikers last season.

Evan Ferguson scored just three goals in the league and found himself out of favour with the Italian very quickly.

Artem Dovbyk, who has gone the other way, joining Bologna, wasn't loved either, scoring the same number of league goals.

The shining light of the season was Donyell Malen, who joined on loan from Aston Villa in January, and scored 14 goals in 18 games (nearly winning the league's top goalscorer with a six-month handicap).

He's not really a No. 9, though, meaning there remained a gap in Roma's squad.

Castro came through at Vélez Sarsfield in his native Argentina, moving to Europe at 18.

Bologna eased him into Serie A football, with just 242 minutes in his first six months (he joined in January).

His first full season saw him play 46 games, scoring 10 goals and providing seven assists in all competitions, winning the Coppa Italia.

Last season was Castro's best in front of goal, scoring 11 goals.

There was a slight dip in his assist numbers, with just three.

Now 21, Castro has made the step up to Roma, who are in the UEFA Champions League (a competition he has played four games in, without scoring a goal) next season.

Gasperini is renowned for getting the most out of his attacking players.

This Santiago Castro scout report and player analysis looks at the striker's strengths and weaknesses, and how he might fit in with players like Malen and Paulo Dybala.

Santiago Castro Positioning

Castro is a centre-forward who very rarely plays in a wide forward position.

Bologna, under Vincenzo Italiano last season, mainly utilised a 4-2-3-1/4-3-3, and Castro was used as that central threat, playing the third most minutes in the squad (behind defenders Juan Miranda and Jhon Lucumí).

Santiago Castro Heat Map 2025/2026

Above is his Serie A season heat map for 2025/2026.

As you can see, there are three clusters where you see him have the most impact. The centre circle (there's not much to take away from this), the edge of the final third and in the box.

Castro is a low-volume player.

He doesn't touch the ball much, averaging 29.86 per 90, ranking him in the 17th percentile amongst forwards in Europe's top-five leagues.

He does the simple things.

He receives the ball in that middle cluster; he'll get the ball out wide to his wingers or back into the midfielders, he'll spin his man, and then he'll make his way to where he wants to be, in the penalty area.

Santiago Castro Attacking Ability

Let's get into the reason why Roma have made him their fifth most expensive signing ever: his attacking prowess.

The concern for Roma is that Castro's underlying numbers are just a bit average.

Last season, he scored 0.27 goals per 90 (48th percentile) from 0.28 expected goals per ninety (41st percentile).

This means he's scoring at about the same rate he should be from the chances he gets.

My main criticism of Castro is that he just doesn't shoot enough.

He has posted 2.45 then 2.38 shots per 90 in the last two seasons, with last season's number ranking him in the 46th percentile.

Call me old-fashioned, but I want to see my No. 9 shoot a lot more than that.

Santiago Castro Shot Map 2025/2026