Wolverhampton Wanderers signed Leonardo Campana earlier this week.
The newly-signed Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Leonardo Campana would get ‘eaten up’ in the Premier League, according to one South American football expert.
Wolves confirmed Campana’s arrival on a three-and-a-half-year deal on Tuesday, after he left Barcelona SC in his native Ecuador.
The 19-year-old has only played 21 games at senior club level, but already has four caps for the Ecuadorian national team.
Despite this, Tim Vickery has told Talksport that while a privileged upbringing – having been born to a prominent sporting family – should help Campana to settle in England, he still has some developing to do on the pitch.
“High educational level, high cultural level, languages – that ain’t going to be a problem,” Vickery said when asked about the latest Molineux recruit. “What is going to be a problem – and Wolves know it. Wolves acknowledge that this is one for the future.
“This time last year he was centre-forward with Ecuador when they won the South American Under-20 Championship. He wasn’t even first or second choice, he was third-choice originally. They had some injuries, he got his chance, took it wonderfully well.
“Beanpole striker, lovely left-foot, very intelligent. (He) played really, really well and that side went on to be third in the world.
“Ecuador got him into the senior side, he played three times in friendlies, and you could see (he’s) nowhere near yet.
“And he’s not particularly quick, his beanpole frame is still filling out. So from a physical point of view he’d just get eaten up in the Premier League at the moment.”
Campana joins Nigel Lonwijk and Justin Hubner in linking up with Wolves this month.
The trio, who are each set to start out in the Wanderers academy set up, could be followed by Daniel Podence and Nelson Oliveira, from Olympiacos and AEK Athens, respectively.
Podence, a winger, and Oliveira, a centre-forward, are expected to compete for first-team places, however.
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