Stocky and alert, there is something of the young Sergio Aguero in him, and it is something of a surprise that he has yet to move on.Īcross the other side of the La Plata, Argentina's River Plate have unearthed some footballing silver in the form of Julian Alvarez. Over a year ago, he looked thoroughly comfortable playing for his country at U23 level in the Olympic qualifiers. Arezzo plays for River Plate of Uruguay (a much smaller club than the Argentine outfit) and he, too, was banging in first division goals when he was still 16. This makes Matias Arezo look like something of a grizzled veteran at the age of 18. Instantly dubbed 'the new Luis Suarez' in terms of style, he is being linked with Barcelona, who have had him on their radar since he starred for Uruguay at under-15 level. And then came a perfect hat trick against Boston River - a neatly guided header, a superb running left-footed chip and a right-footed piledriver from the edge of the area. The first time he was handed a place in Danubio's starting line-up, he scored an important goal against local giants Nacional. He only turns 17 next month, but is already a star. Nicolas Siri of Danubio in Uruguay is a case in point.

Messi to PSG among five transfers we want to happen this summer.

They want youngsters - so this is a quick look at some of the latest crop lighting up South America.

The major European clubs no longer seem particularly interested in signing players from South American football once they have hit their mid-20s. only)īut that is the way the market currently operates. UEFA World Cup qualifiers on ESPN+: Stream LIVE games, replays (U.S. It is very hard to hit the ground running in a different, more competitive style of football, especially with the additional strains of moving to a fresh culture at such a tender age. The step up from South American club football to a global giant in the English game is a huge one. Unfortunately, both then became known under the cruel category of 'flops' when they failed to make the grade in England. At the time, both slotted in under the category of 'wonderkids' - teenage strikers who were making a name for themselves in South America. Di Santo moved to Chelsea in 2008, while in 2012 Henriquez was snapped up by Manchester United.

Some Premier League fans may struggle to recall these names. With Franco Di Santo scoring in both legs, San Lorenzo of Argentina cruised to a 3-1 aggregate victory over Universidad de Chile, for whom Angelo Henriquez was not on target. There was a duel of ex- Premier League strikers over the past two weeks in the qualifying rounds of the Copa Libertadores, South America's Champions League.

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