Barcelona interested in latest Argentinian talent as 15-year-old impresses scouts

Barcelona are one of many top clubs heavily involved in the Latin American market for the best young talents, and believe they have identified another potential star. Argentinian starlet Felipe Esquivel was one of the standouts at the under-15 South American Championships.

It is not too hard to look for the latest top talents in Argentina, given most of them have emerged from River Plate, which is also the case for Esquivel. He is another smaller technically gifted forward, who is primarily left-footed. Just 15 years of age, he can play on both wings, and stands out for his ability to beat his man. Sport detail that he has a contract until 2026 with River, with a €30m release clause, although the any European side that wants to move for him will have to wait until at least 2027, when he turns 18.

#FCBarcelona are tracking River Plate's latest teenage gem, Felipe Esquivel, who impressed at the under-15 South American Championships. (Sport) #FCBarcelona #CARP pic.twitter.com/fY4ksfhGQW

— Football España (@footballespana_) October 23, 2024

Barcelona missed out on Claudio Echeverri, who has signed for Manchester City, while Franco Mastantuono reportedly has his heart set on Real Madrid, but the Catalan daily say they may look more seriously at Esquivel. In particular, his performance in a 1-1 draw with Brazil, scoring the Albiceleste goal that ended Brazil’s hopes, stood out to scouts. The plan in Buenos Aires is for Esquivel to join the under-19s next season, while first-team coach Marcelo Gallardo will look at him in preseason too.

Esquivel was one of several players that made waves at the tournament, sending Barcelona’s scouts home with glowing reports. Juan Riquelme Angulo (16, San Lorenzo and Argentina), Justin Lerma (16, Independiente, joining Borussia Dortmund, and Ecuador), Holger and Edwin Quintero (both twins are 15 and play for Ecuador and Independiente del Valle) and Zidane Yanez (16, Chile and New York City FC) are some of the others that impressed most.

It goes to show then extent of the scouting networks that have developed in recent years. Barcelona can be assured that many other top clubs also noticed Esquivel, and while previously many of these players would have been scouted and kept on file by big clubs, now they are much more likely to move for them sooner, before they develop into senior professionals.

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