The French are popular in Italy. This season, many French players have particularly stood out on the other side of the Alps. On the AC Milan side, Adrien Rabiot made his return to Serie A where he found Mike Maignan as impressive as ever. On the Juventus side, Khéphren Thuram and Pierre Kalulu have put together great performances like Manu Koné at AS Roma. On the Udinese side, we obviously have the excellent defender Oumar Solet (26 years old) who is essential. If the former Lyonnais is having fun in Friuli where he has become one of the best defenders in Serie A, he is not the only Frenchman to flourish on the Udine side. Arriving in the summer of 2024 on loan from FC Metz, Arthur Atta is like a fish in water with the Bianconeri.
Playing a season in Ligue 2 and a season in Ligue 1 with the Garnets before arriving in Italy, the midfielder showed great qualities. Able to play in different midfield positions, he participated in the great end of the season for Metz who came within a breath of maintaining their position before failing in the play-offs against AS Saint-Étienne. It was then that Udinese took the gamble and well received it. Arriving in the form of a loan with an option to purchase, this real Swiss army knife nevertheless had a complicated start to the season. Not really considered at first then victim of small physical glitches, he had to wait until the start of 2025 to take his place in the team, never to leave. Author of 29 appearances for his first season under his new colors without being decisive, he convinced Udinese to raise the 8 million euros of their purchase option. A wise choice, because the native of Rennes is completely exploding this season.
Already estimated at 40 million euros
Placed in a 3-way midfielder with Jesper Karlström and Jurgen Ekkelenkamp (or Jakub Piotrowski), he displays all his qualities. Improving his physical qualities and his ability to project, the 23-year-old has gained confidence and consistency this season. Perfectly fulfilled in his team, he shines with 6 goals and 4 assists in 32 matches. He also particularly performed in big matches with a goal in the victory against Inter Milan (2-1), a goal and an assist against AC Milan (3-0) and a double against Lazio (3-3). Moreover, his absence due to a leg injury coincided with a bad patch for Udinese with 3 defeats and 1 draw in 5 matches during December. Second best scorer and second best passer of the transalpine team, he is one of the leaders with Oumar Solet and the attackers Keinan Davis and Nicolo Zaniolo. Moreover, he was rewarded with the revelation trophy of the month of April in Serie A following his good recent performances, helping Udinese to rank tenth in the championship.
Elegant with the ball, Arthur Atta stands out for his excellent technique as he confided to Gazzetta dello Sport : “I love dribbling, and also using the trivela, this outside kick which gives spin to the ball. I would like to try the rabona, this crossing of the feet followed by a heel strike. On the other hand, I need to improve my aerial game: I’m tall, but I’ve never scored with a header.»Putting him more in an offensive situation, his coach Kosta Runjaic is in any case satisfied with his progress: “my opinion of Atta will depend on the expectations placed on him. This is his first season as a starter. He joined Udinese last year, integrated, progressed and learned a lot. This year, it met our expectations. (…) We are working to help him progress. Our goal is for him to score, to be efficient and decisive.» This maturation of Arthur Atta’s game now offers him a new status since he is estimated at 40 million euros by his club and he has been mentioned by Inter Milan and Italy but also in England. There is no doubt that the Frenchman will be talked about during this transfer window, whose contract with Udinese runs until June 2029.
