Liverpool are reportedly keeping an eye on Boca Juniors’ Valentin Barco along with Juventus, Manchester City and Brighton, say Calciomercato (via Sport Witness).
The 19-year-old fullback – who can also play on the left of the midfield and as a left-sided winger – has already earmarked himself as one of the most exciting young talents in football.
The defender already ranks in the upper echelons in a handful of attacking metrics compared to his positional peers, registering in the 90th percentile for shot-creating actions for instance, according to FBref.
Whilst work will no doubt be required to hone the teenager’s passing ability (ranking in the 36th and 39th percentile for passes attempted and completed respectively), there’s quite the template there already.
Barco appears comfortable both progressing the ball (94th percentile and 99th percentile for progressive carries and successful take-ons) and receiving the ball in more advanced positions (90th percentile for progressive passes received).
Whilst we have to consider that the youngster’s playing his football in the Brazilian top-flight, those are still quite impressive numbers and it’s not hard to see why he’s attracting interest from Europe’s elite.
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