Here are 10 facts about the Chilean sensation who is expected to confirm his transfer for Manchester United this week.
Manchester United have seemingly won the race for Chilean youngster Angelo Henriquez in a deal believed to be worth £4million pounds.
So who is the talented 18-year-old and why would the Old Trafford outfit splash out on the teenage sensation?
1. Born in the capital Santiago; Angelo signed for home town club and Chilean giants Universidad de Chile in 2007 aged 13.
2. It is reported Angelo had to cease his other great talent of tennis in order to pursue a football career.
3. Universidad have previously honed the skills of several other Chilean stars such as former Sporting Lisbon free-kick king Rodrigo Tello, Chile’s record appearance holder and goalscoring sensation Leonel Sanchez and Chile’s record goalscorer Marcelo Salas amongst many.
4. Angelo made his debut for Los Azules in June 2011 his only appearance of that season but after the departures of Gustavo Canales to Dalian Shide and Eduardo Vargas to Napoli; Angelo’s first team exposure was suddenly increased.
5. He scored his first goal in senior football during a 5-1 win against Argentine side Godoy Cruz in the Copa Libertadores in February
6. He went on to have an impressive first season in the first team amassing 15 goals in 28 competitive games cementing himself as a first team regular at Estadio Nacional.
7. His brother Cesar is also a professional footballer currently playing for Palestino in Chile after stints in Colombian and Greek football.
8. Angelo has a formidable goalscoring record at youth team level scoring 21 goals in 16 games across various age groups from Under-15 up to under 23 level. Such form accompanied by his impressive league form has seen some pundits call for him to make an early progression into the full senior side.
9. At Universidad Angelo wears number 7 and he will hope to emulate legends such as David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo and George Best by one day wearing the coveted shirt at Old Trafford.
10. It is reported that Manchester United beat off interest from cross-city rival’s Manchester City for the talented South American which makes his acquisition all the more important.
All in all there is undoubtedly a very talented player in the making here and with the right opportunities at Old Trafford he may well turn out to be as big a star as his fellow Universidad graduate Marcelo Salas. With a quick turn of speed and ability to break the offside trap, all ably assisted by a cool head in front of goal he has similarities to current United star Javier Hernandez and will hope to make a similar impact in his debut season with the Red Devils.
Here is a video of the Chilean wonderkid in action…
image: © birdies perch
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