Five underrated South Americans Manchester United should sign
By Bence Bocsak
From Neymar to Messi, South America produces some of the best footballing talent, here’s who Manchester United should look to sign from the continent.
Manchester United have had some fine South American talent grace the turf at Old Trafford. The Red Devils’ contingent especially thrived under the leadership of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Since the Scotsman’s departure the club have struggled in finding the right players to buy from the continent.
Often South American talent has been neglected in favour of homegrown talent, or players from closer to home.
However, to do that is a huge mistake. South America produces and has produced categorically the best talent in the world.
There is a reason why Brazil are the record five time World Cup champions.
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So without further ado, here are the talents who we think United should try to sign from South America.
1. Gabriel Veron
Position: Winger
Age: 17
Nationality: Brazilian
Current club: Palmeiras
The winger was the star of the show at the U17 World Cup earlier this year on home soil with some sublime performances.
Since then Veron has made his senior appearance at Palmeiras and has already netted twice for the club in his first three games.
Veron is blessed with a plethora of skills and blinding pace. Unusually for a young Brazilian winger, he is quite explosive and bulky. He could be the next big thing to come out of Brazil and United should definitely be in the race to bring him to Europe.
2. Gabigol
Position: Striker
Age: 23
Nationality: Brazil
Current Club: Flamengo
When Gabigol came through the ranks at Santos as young teenager he was tipped to become the ‘next Neymar.’ His move to Inter Milan was meant to herald a second coming.
The Brazilian might have been a tad too young however. Gabigol’s European adventure turned sour very quickly and he struggled to break into the Milan first team.
He has since returned to Brazil and has thrived at Flamengo. Last season, Gabigol scored a total of 43 goals in 59 games. This season he has already netted 11 in ten.
United are in dire need of attacking reinforcements and Gabigol deserves another chance in Europe.
He is now more mature and looks ready for the big leagues.
3. Matheus Henrique
Position: Holding Midfielder
Age: 22
Nationality: Brazilian
Current Club: Gremio
The Brazilian holding midfielder could be the next big thing. Matheus Henrique has all the tools to go very far in the game.
Henrique is fast and an excellent tackler. He can play in various positions across the midfield and can even provide cover at the back. He can dictate the tempo of the game and could be an ideal replacement for the likes of Nemanja Matic or Paul Pogba who could depart Old Trafford in the summer.
His distribution is exemplary and his form has been hugely impressive. He is already a Brazilian international.
4. Nicolas de la Cruz
Position: Attacking midfielder
Age: 22
Nationality: Uruguayan
Current club: River Plate
Manchester United have been looking to sign an attacking midfielder this season with the likes of Jack Grealish and James Maddison being linked with the Red Devils.
However Nicolas de la Cruz could be the cheaper and better option. The Uruguayan is full of flair and possess a clever eye to thread balls through the opposition’s defence.
He is a standout performer in Argentina and has also been linked with Manchester City in the past.
Solskjaer should pounce before Guardiola does.
5. Yeferson Soteldo
Position: Winger
Age: 22
Nationality: Venezuelan
Current club: Santos
The tiny and stocky Venezuelan has been making a name for himself in Brazil at Santos and has attracted a lot of interest.
Soteldo is an adept dribbler who can skip past players with ease. His playing style if similar to the likes of Xherdan Shaqiri and Lorenzo Insigne, with Soteldo able to slalom past defences and provide an assist or a goal at the end of his run.
Soteldo would be a great addition at United and he could be a wonderful squad player, much like Shaqiri has proven to be at Liverpool.
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Who would you like to see Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sign from South America?