Joaquín Panichelli - Scout Report

The young Argentine striker recently earned himself a move to Strasbourg after scoring 21 goals for Mirandés in LaLiga2 last season.

Player Information

Name: Joaquín Panichelli

Club: RC Strasbourg

Nationality: Argentina

Age: 22 (Born 2002)

Position: Striker

Preferred foot: Right

Height: 1.90m

Joaquín Panichelli joined Deportivo Alavés from River Plate on a free transfer in 2023. Following a few appearances for Alavés’ second team, he spent the 2024/25 season on loan at LaLiga2 club CD Mirandés. His 21 goals and 8 assists (playoffs included) led the Spanish club to the finals of the promotion playoffs where they lost to Real Oviedo.

Mirandés typically operated in a 3-5-2/5-3-2 system, with Panichelli partnering Urko Izeta in a classic strike partnership. Panichelli always started on the right of the two (incorrectly shown in lineups). Panichelli did a lot of work for the side - running channels, hold-up play, running in behind, and above all, scoring goals.

Physical:

Standing at 1.90m (6’2) and weighing 82kg (180 lbs), Panichelli has a tall, lean frame. He uses his height and mobility really well in game, winning a high percentage of duels and displaying strength under pressure. JP is incredibly ‘football fit’ - he can perform a high volume of actions on a game-to-game basis, particularly a high volume of runs in behind and into the channels.

Speed and Agility:

Without the ball, Panichelli appears to be quick, though his acceleration is nothing out of the ordinary, meaning he only hits top speed when covering large distances, mostly in transition situations. He is not blessed with agility - his turning radius is big, but not debilitating - as he is not much of a dribbler or a carrier, it is not that harmful to his game. JP’s hamstrings do not appear to be very big or powerful, which could be a contributing factor to his lack of top end speed. He does not possess that elite level pace or agility that modern #9s have, but he makes up for it with other physical qualities.

Jumping and Strength:

Panichelli has an incredible leap, with that ‘Ronaldo-esque’ ability to hang in the air. In LaLiga2 last season, he won 54.8% of his aerial duels, which place him in the 92nd percentile amongst forwards in the division (via FotMob). When jumping and contesting long balls, he uses his arms really well to increase his jumping power and height. The way he manages to jump when defenders are all over him is equally as impressive. JP constantly wins headers even when jumping behind his opponent, as he very slyly uses his opponents’ back to climb above them. The timing of his jumps is excellent.

He does not typically avoid contact with opponents, but rather backs himself to win a shoulder-to-shoulder duel. JP displays good core strength and balance under contact, but does occasionally get sent to ground too easily - however, more often than not he protects the ball well when facing pressure. Defenders often have to foul him to stop him - he won 2.34 fouls per game in LaLiga2 which puts him in the 80th percentile among forwards.

Technical:

Panichelli is technically solid - I think the way to maximize his output does not require him to be technically excellent. He has the ability to be involved in the game to a good level, whether that is through carrying in space or using him as an attacking reference point / target man.

First Touch:

JP’s first touch is good - especially when controlling the ball in the air. He can take a range of creative touches with his chest or his feet to either bring it down and drive, or bring it down and play to a teammate.

When receiving ground passes zipped into his feet and he is approaching the ball at speed, he sometimes struggles with the ability to cushion the ball - it can get caught under his feet or he may take a loose touch. To compensate for this, he often performs one-time sets or layoffs to his teammates - these are well weighted and accurate. However, because they are performed in one-touch, it limits the scope of his actions to the teammates that are within the vicinity to receive said layoffs. These layoffs can also be via flick-ons with his head. His first touch in most other situations is good, hardly ever forcing him to readjust or chase after the ball.

Dribbling and Carrying:

Panichelli is a very low-volume dribbler - he only averaged 0.75 completed dribbles per game last season. He is adept at carrying the ball with space in front of him (think attacking transition situations), and as mentioned earlier he can hit a decent level of speed. He invites contact while carrying, and almost encourages it in some situations - like he is ‘brake-checking’ an opponent trying to catch up to him just so he can shrug their challenge off.

When running at defenders in 1v1 situations, he is not the most agile but has a good understanding of how to use the defender’s momentum against them, and can use a variety of quick cuts with the ball to evade their challenge. However, do not expect him to dribble past more than 1-2 players at a time, or to size up a defender 1v1 the way a winger would. He occasionally tries to use his body to roll defenders when protecting the ball, with varied success.

Passing:

Statistically, JP is not the best passer. The eye test shows you that his technique is good - he is not the most creative passer, nor is he the most involved in build-up. Mirandés set up in a vertical 3-5-2 last season, meaning his involvement was not always required in open play outside of the final third and hold/link-up responsibilities. He strikes the middle of the ball cleanly, with the occasional good cross put in as a result of his runs from in-to-out, usually from the half space or wing area. I believe this is why his numbers are average, as many of his passes come in the final third and thus bring with them a larger element of risk. As mentioned earlier, most of his passing involvement is from one-touch layoffs / sets which he does well.

Ball Striking/Shooting/Finishing:

Panichelli has good ball striking technique, which he combines with excellent finishing instincts. He can strike the ball and generate a good amount of power well with either feet, however, when setting himself up for a shot with his left foot, he ‘loads up’ the shot for a noticeably longer amount of time compared to his right. Off his right foot he can generate a good ‘snapshot’ quickly following a setting touch with either foot. He does not wait for the perfect opportunity to get his shots off - he shoots from unconventional positions, angles, and even when he is low balance. He doesn’t mind shooting through a crowd either, he takes his chance with deflections. His finishing ability with his head is some of the best I’ve seen in recent times, too.

Tactical:

Everything talked about in his technical would begin to show you the type of centre forward that Joaquin Panichelli is - he is a true fox in the box. The tactical side of his game is by far his strongest asset and is elite.

Box Movement and Positioning:

JP’s box movement and positioning is textbook. Firstly, he always looking at the ball, constantly adjusting his positioning and body shape relative to where the ball is, ready to get on the end of a cross - his hips are always facing the goal and the ball. Two things stand out from Panichelli’s habits in the box: the way he prepares his space and the way he takes advantage of the opponent’s fixation on the ball. JP makes a double movement every time the ball is about to enter the box - he drags the defender away from the space he wants to attack/receive in (‘preparing his space’) - at this time the ball is crossed, meaning the defender has to focus on the flight of the ball - this is when JP then checks back into the now vacated space, on the blindside of the defender (as they are fully facing the ball), gets open, and attacks the ball. He can do this under heavy contact from defenders as well, as they try to grab onto him to keep him close, but he almost always gets away. The timing of his movement is excellent.

His taking advantage of the opponent’s fixation on the ball often allows him to ‘ghost’ around in the box. Very intelligently, he always keeps about 1-2 yards of space between himself and the nearest defender, just within their field of view. Defenders can *just* see him, and feel a false sense of security - then when the ball is crossed in, he slips away. Defenders are always forced to *react* to his movement, it is very difficult to defend him proactively.

Runs in Behind and Game Intelligence:

Panichelli looks to attack space as often as possible and as early as possible while he is on the pitch. He makes a high volume of runs per game, even making multiple runs per phase of play. He loves to make in-to-out runs from the centre/right half space area into the right side of the pitch. When giving a layoff/set to a teammate, his first instinct is to spin in behind the defender that has followed him and attack the space created. Similar to his habits in the box, he is always readjusting his body shape to be open to the ball and the goal, always exploring the possibility of running in behind the opposition’s back line.

Psychological:

Relentlessness:

In simple terms, Panichelli is a bulldozer on the pitch. He never stops running and he fights for every ball. It is hard to stop him, too - there are many occasions where he gets fouled or knocked over and he is up right away, hounding down a loose ball or a defender. His determination in the box is great - always looking to get on the end of loose / 2nd balls, not letting defenders get in his way. There is a bit of a South American element, some ‘garra’ to his game, which is contagious. I also find that he does not need to constantly receive the ball to stay ‘connected’ with the match - he can go periods of time without the ball and still perform.

Passion:

The other part of his game which is typically South American and equally as contagious as his ‘garra’ is his passion. You can tell he cares, you can see how much it means to him every time he scores. To me, this shows a hunger and determination to want to take responsibility, to be the guy that steps up for his team. Not only does this pass onto his teammates, but it helps get fans on his side.

Areas of Improvement:

I think JP could continue to get better technically, in things like dealing with the ball under heavy pressure. Access to better coaching and facilities could help him with his physical ‘weaknesses’ such as his sprinting power and his hip flexibility (for his turn radius). This would be the final step in his development, especially if he were to move to a league like the Premier League, where the level of athleticism required is higher than other top 5 leagues. In this sense, due to the physicality of the league, I think Ligue 1 will test him and sharpen him up. In terms of striker’s instincts, I truly believe he has it all.

Player Outlook:

I am really high on Panichelli - everything I’ve seen tells me that he will continue to score goals at a high rate - adding to that, service from ‘better’ teammates (despite how brilliant that Mirandés team was) will only help to increase his output. Strasbourg are obviously linked to Chelsea through BlueCo - Chelsea have signed two strikers this summer, so a move there may be unrealistic, but I think we could see him starting for a Champions League club in 2026/27 . He scored on his Ligue 1 debut for Strasbourg, and I think that trend will continue - I would not be surprised if he scored 15+ league goals for the French club. With a World Cup coming up in 2026, do not be shocked if he is on the plane to North America.

Thank you for reading!