Will the Real Taty Castellanos Please Stand Up?

As he approaches 27 years of age, Taty Castellanos has already had quite the impressive soccer career. He’s guided New York City FC to the biggest prize in the USA, he’s represented his country at the senior level, and he’s played in two of the five biggest leagues in Europe. However, he hasn’t quite managed to find consistency and exemplify his true level over a long-term period for Lazio.

Born in Mendoza, Argentina, Castellanos left his homeland for Chile in 2015, spending a couple of years at Universidad de Chile’s academy and making his senior debut there before heading to Torque, where he helped them achieve promotion to the Uruguayan top-flight. These performances drew the attention of Major League Soccer outfit New York City FC, who signed him on loan with an option to buy, which was triggered just four months after his arrival.

Castellanos scored a goal on his debut vs. Vancouver Whitecaps and took his game to a new level in 2019 by scoring 11 times and adding seven assists in 30 matches to help NYCFC finish atop the East and qualify for their first CONCACAF Champions League.

After a decline in production in 2020, Castellanos would bounce back in stellar fashion in 2021 by becoming only the fifth player in MLS history to score in each of their club’s first four matches and playing an integral role in attack.

The Argentine forward won the MLS Golden Boot after a stellar campaign that would see him score 19 goals and 8 assists, including 12 goals in their last 14 fixtures, leading MLS in shots and shots on target with 132 and 57, respectively. He scored in each of his three MLS Cup appearances, opening the scoring in the final vs. Portland Timbers and converting in the shootout, where NYCFC prevailed 4-2.

It wasn’t long before Europe came calling, with newly promoted side Girona signing him on loan. Castellanos would become the first player in 76 years to score four goals in a league match vs. Real Madrid, scoring 13 goals in 35 LaLiga appearances in total.

After just one season in Spain, Castellanos would make the move to Lazio for a reported €15 million, where he struggled to get going and mustered just 6 goals and 5 assists in 46 appearances. The departure of club icon Ciro Immobile would open the door for Castellanos to go from impact sub to attacking talisman, racking up 14 goals and 8 assists in 40 matches.

However, he was unable to play a significant role during the home stretch, scoring just once in his last eight league matches as Lazio missed out on European football after finishing seventh in Serie A and losing in the quarterfinals in the Coppa Italia and UEFA Europa League.

After blanking in their season opener – a 2-0 loss at Como – Castellanos would bounce back in stellar fashion by leading the line to perfection alongside Matteo Cancelleri and Mattia Zaccagni, assisting Lazio’s two goals within the first 10 minutes, before scoring the third goal in a 4-0 thrashing of Hellas Verona.

He’ll be looking to do something he hasn’t done since the start of February and score in back-to-back league matches, with Lazio set to visit newly promoted Sassuolo before taking on Roma in the Derby della Capitale.

Castellanos is one of many players who finds himself on the fringes of the Argentina national team alongside the likes of Ezquiel Fernandez, Santiago Castro, Marcos Senesi and Alejandro Garnacho, and he’ll be aware of the necessity to have a breakthrough year at Lazio as he looks to nail down a place in the squad ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Four years after making his debut for Argentina’s youth sides in the 2020 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament, which they managed to win, Castellanos received his maiden call-up for the senior team. He made his debut for La Albiceleste on September 6, 2024, coming on for the final minutes of a 3-0 win against Chile.

Castellanos returned two months later for his second appearance after entering in the final minutes of a 2-1 loss to Paraguay in World Cup qualifying. He hasn’t returned since, missing out in March due to a calf muscle tear, before being omitted from the June and September squads, and he’ll be looking to give Lionel Scaloni some food for thought by transforming himself into an even more indispensable cog for Lazio this season.

From Eden Hazard to Cristiano Ronaldo to Paulo Dybala, from Dries Mertens to Gonzalo Higuain to Lorenzo Insigne, we’ve seen quite a few attackers enjoy world-class campaigns under the tutelage of Maurizio Sarri. Could Taty Castellanos be the next to take his game to the next level under Sarri? Lazio fans will certainly be hoping so.