Italian journalist Fabio Caressa feels that the amount of growth and maturation that he has seen from Inter striker Lautaro Martinez has been something unexpected.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, the journalist suggested that the 25-year-old used to be a less mature, and more selfish player, but that he has both become a top-level striker and also put his immaturity behind him and emerged as a leader in the Nerazzurri squad.

Martinez has been in some of the very best form of his career across the past couple months since the team returned from the winter break, and this has coincided with him starting to wear the captain’s armband on a fairly regular basis.

The Argentine has not been a player without his doubters and criticism, particularly due to some inconsistency in front of goal that he has shown at times during his Nerazzurri career.

Caressa admits that he was among these, whilst the journalist also sees the player as having needed to grow an impressive amount to reach the level that he is now playing at.

“I didn’t think that he would have this growth in him in terms of maturity,” Caressa said of Martinez, “he used to be a player who would show his frustration with coaches, he’d throw his water bottle to the ground when he would get substituted.”

“He seemed more focused on himself than on the group,” he continued, “however now he’s entirely the opposite.”

“People grow, they change, sometimes we misunderstand them initially, indeed sometimes we can be wrong in our judgments of them,” the journalist suggested.

“Lautaro is not just a great striker, but a great leader for his team,” he argued, “he’s the one who goes out and faces the media, and he wears the armband with a stern face.”

“For me he’s a good captain,” Caressa said of the Argentine, “I like captains who have a serious face, like Beppe Bergomi.”

“He’s won me over, and now he’s ready to take the next step which is becoming a striker who scores thirty goals per season, for me he’s capable of it.”