Looks like he's joining Inter Miami for $3m (£2.3m). One of the few players I've tipped to reach the very top and what a bargain this is - has such an interesting skillset, learning from Messi will be a big boost for his career as well.
I wonder if Miami will become a much more attractive proposition for players now because of Messi, players of that calibre won't get many opportunities to play with possibly the greatest player of all time, but then again I guess he might have taken a big chunk out of their finances, and I dare say he's staying for long!
Joined Westerlo in Belgium for a rumoured €5.5m. Sunderland were apparently interested as well, but think a move to Belgium is a good one.
Seems a lot for a team who are usually something of a minnow in Belgian football (mind you, I managed to shift a player to them for £40m on Football Manager!)
It just seems to happen on my saves, I sold an England international keeper who was no longer getting into my team to a 2. Bundesliga team for a similar fee too
Fully agree, it's their record transfer by quite some distance (previously €1.3m!). If he ends up being prolific (tbf his finishing improved in the final few months of the season) then they'll be able to flip him for decent money but that's far from a certainty.
An odd one here - has joined CA Talleres for €1.62m. Really very surprised he didn't move to Europe - I've been keeping tabs on him over the course of the last year and he's really developed nicely and broke into the Colombian U20 team. Since January he's been linked with Porto, Rangers and Liverpool among others. I thought he would've cost €4/5m so a move to another South American side at that price has me confused to why nobody else was in for him..
Well he's joined a club in Argentina so that's not the reason! Wonder whether that club is particularly rich or something and have given him a good wage knowing that he'll move on in a year or 2? @Smudger - know much about their finances?
Joined FC Famalicao in Portugal. That's a big jump in quality between leagues but he's pretty technical so he could adjust. Be interesting to see how he gets on.
Also joined CA Talleres in Argentina. Wonder why they're snapping up all the Colombian wonderkids. Joined Las Palmas in La Liga for €1.5m.
Interesting one - bought by RWD Molenbeek in Belgium for €25m (their record transfer was €3m before this...) then loaned to French powerhouses Lyon (same owner) the very next day. Bet that's gone down well with the fans of RWDM....
Expect to see him at Palace (owner of Lyon/RWDM also owns 40% of Palace) in a couple of seasons for another extravagant fee!
Joined Midjtylland. Somewhat surprising next move after being linked to numerous PL/Serie A sides over the past year. But gets him on the right track.
Turns out he rejected a contract from AC Milan in January as he felt he wasn't ready and wanted to join a club where he'd get regular gametime and develop before joining a bigger club. Fair play that lad.
@reids As in the South American thread Talleres used to be a powerhouse in Argentine football. Then for fifty odd years completely in the doldrums and in the third tier. Under their new owner Andres Fassi they have been turned around. He's a businessman first and foremost. He put some capital into the club but adopted data methods. Built a new training ground complex one of the best in Argentina and an emphasis on youth. Dealt with the barra bravas and created this warm experience at the stadium. Also looking abroad for a partner club. He's bought young players and sold them on for a large profit like Piero Hincapie all the while improving the overall squad that has seen Talleres rise to the Primera finish runners up to River Plate. And reach cup finals including the Sudamericana. Qualifying for the Libertadores and with a end of August transfer deadline means they have been busy. They have also signed a couple of promising players from Velez in Seoane and Pozzo. moved Enzo Diaz to River who could have been called up to the WC qualifiers given Acuna is injured. They have also signed Luis Angulo from Colombia and Matias Galarza of Paraguay is in talks. All young and with great promise. That's his model. Buy young talent and develop it to sell on.
That makes sense, I kinda liked Luis Angulo but think he's too raw for Europe yet. Still very much surprised that clubs in Europe weren't interested in Mantilla/Angulo at the prices they went for though!
Still very early days (2.7 full 90s played) but it looks like he's seamlessly adapted to life in the MLS. Really excited to see how his career develops.
Name: Vicente Pizarro Club: Colo Colo Nationality: Chilean Position: Central Midfield Birthday: 5/11/2002 (20) Height: 172cm (5”8) Foot: Left Contract: 31/12/2024 Estimated cost: €2m-3m Date: 10/9/2023 Tactical role + team details: Colo Colo are one one the top teams in Chile - they are currently 3rd in the league in 2023 but won the league in 2022, finishing 2nd in 2021 whilst finishing 16th in 2020. They have typically played a 4-2-31 formation this season but have sometimes used a 3-5-2 or variant system. Pizarro is most frequently deployed as the left sided central midfielder. He is a product of the Colo Colo academy and made his league debut in May 2021 and has since been a regular in the side starting over a third of the games in both the 2021 + 2022 seasons and is on track to beat that in the 2023 season. He has been capped at U15, U17, U20 and U23 levels for Chile and has been called up for the senior Chilean team but has yet to make his debut. Attacking Phase: Liked to shoot from the edge of the penalty area but really struggled to connect well with the ball, with most of the shots scuffed or going way over the crossbar - but showed good timing and positioning by consistently finding himself in these shooting locations. Often (roughly once per game) would try a through ball to the forward, but these were often inaccurate and over/under hit. Was confident in taking players on 1 vs 1 although I felt he lacked effectiveness in this, with a heavy first touch often letting him down and cutting down the time/space he had available to him. Build Up Phase: His range of passing was varied - his ground passes to the forwards lacked effectiveness but his long range passing was good, with good power and accuracy demonstrated. His short range passing was accurate and liked to play quick intelligent short range passes, often out to the flanks. Often kept it simple when pressed playing a pass back to the way he was facing rather than trying to play his way out of danger. Defensive Phase: By far his biggest strength. Showed good defensive intelligence and was effective at breaking up play. Was intelligent at cutting off passing lanes and cutting down options for the opponent which forced errors. Pressed well with good intensity and effectiveness. Physical: Good jump and was surprisingly good in the air for his size. Agility was mostly good. Strength wasn’t amazing and looked to have poor pace and acceleration. Limitations: Height will naturally impact his aerial ability. Coachable Aspects To Improve: Work on receiving the ball. Shooting needs practice - could be more effective in the final third if he can add a few more goals to his game, his timing at arriving to the edge of the area in space is already good. Next Step: I felt his skillset was somewhat limited (and the data surprised me when I looked at it - didn't think his possession stats would be that high) but he was very effective at the defensive side of the game and I can definitely see him playing at a higher level than the Chilean league soon. MLS would be a good next step, as would one of Belgium/Netherlands/ Portugal Current Level: 10 - Champions League level player 9 - Top Half PL player 8 - PL player 7 - Top half player in Serie A/La Liga/Bundesliga/Ligue 1 6 - Serie A/La Liga/Bundesliga/Ligue 1 Player 5 - Top Championship player 4 - Championship player 3 - League 1 player 2 - League 2 player 1 - Awful Potential: 10 - Champions League level player 9 - Top Half PL player 8 - PL player 7 - Top half player in Serie A/La Liga/Bundesliga/Ligue 1 6 - Serie A/La Liga/Bundesliga/Ligue 1 Player 5 - Top Championship player 4 - Championship player 3 - League 1 player 2 - League 2 player 1 - Awful
Name: Viktor Dukanovic Club: Hammarby Nationality: Montenegrin Position: LW/ST Birthday: 29/1/2004 (19) Height: 184cm (6”0) Foot: Right Contract: 31/12/27 Estimated cost: €6m Date: 12/9/23 Tactical role + team details: Hammarby have recently established themselves as one of the top teams in Sweden, finishing 8th in 2020, 5th in 2021, 3rd in 2022 and are currently 5th this season. They typically play a 433 or 4231 formation with Dukanovic usually deployed as a left-winger, although he has occasionally played as a striker. Dukanovic started his career at Sutjeska Niksic in Montenegro before moving to Buducnost (one of the best clubs in Montenegro) in 2019. That same season he made his first team debut at just 15 years old where he came off the bench and scored. He played 3582 minutes (39 full 90s) across 3 seasons scoring 12 goals and getting 1 assist before joining Hammarby in January 2023 for €1m, where he’s played 1006 minutes and scored 8 goals in the league so far. He has been capped at U15. U16, U17, U19, U21 and senior level for Montenegro. Attacking Phase: Showed good variety in his attacking play, liked to drop deep to receive the ball but also liked to play off the shoulder of the full-back and make runs in behind - often didn’t like to play the way he was facing - everything he did was done in order to turn and attack. Didn’t really try to play in other forwards much and didn’t offer much in terms of creating chances for team-mates. Attempted a lot of dribbles, but rarely beat his man through skill or pace preferring to either using his body or a quick drop of the shoulder whilst turning to create space for himself. Doesn’t like to cross and really wasn’t good at it when he did. Tried a lot of shots from range - is a good striker of the ball with both feet and these often tested the goalkeeper. His biggest strength was cutting inside from the left-wing and curling a ball to the far corner. Build Up Phase: Wasn’t great in deeper areas of the pitch, made a lot of poor decisions and simple misplaced passes and slowed things down a lot, but showed willingness to contribute rather than just holding his position out wide or up front. Showed some good switches of play to the opposite flank. Demonstrated some nice flicks and turns when put under pressure but overall needs work in this phase of the game. Defensive Phase: Tracked back well and really put in a shift defensively. Pressed with good intensity and was effective at it as well, almost even forcing some errors from goalkeepers on backpasses with his pressing intensity. Physical: Powerful runner and showed good strength and was capable of holding off and shielding the ball well with his body. Good turn of pace and decent enough agility shown. Good enough in the air but far from exceptional. Coachable Aspects To Improve: Crossing ability. Dribbling will likely need improvement in a tougher league. Build up/link up play. Current Level: 10 - Champions League level player 9 - Top Half PL player 8 - PL player 7 - Top half player in Serie A/La Liga/Bundesliga/Ligue 1 6 - Serie A/La Liga/Bundesliga/Ligue 1 Player 5 - Top Championship player 4 - Championship player 3 - League 1 player 2 - League 2 player 1 - Awful Potential: 10 - Champions League level player 9 - Top Half PL player 8 - PL player 7 - Top half player in Serie A/La Liga/Bundesliga/Ligue 1 6 - Serie A/La Liga/Bundesliga/Ligue 1 Player 5 - Top Championship player 4 - Championship player 3 - League 1 player 2 - League 2 player 1 - Awful
Forgot to add the next step Next Step: There's 8 games left of the Swedish league, if he can continue his pre international break form then I wouldn't be surprised at all if a club from a top 5 league took a punt in January. Bundesliga or Ligue 1 would be the best immediate fits.
Not seen him play and he hasn't played much (8 x 90's) but those are very good stats for someone who only turned 18 last month!
