Exclusive with Graeme Bailey.
Liverpool will continue to monitor Colombian wonderkid Neiser Villarreal once he joins Cruzeiro this December, Rousing The Kop can reveal.
Villarreal has been one of the stars of the ongoing U20 World Cup in Chile, where he is currently joint top-scorer.
Although Colombia were beaten in Thursday morning’s semi-final against Argentina, the 20-year-old has impressed Liverpool scouts who were present at the tournament.
As RTK exclusively revealed last February, Liverpool were watching Villarreal at the U20 South American Championship, where he also finished as the competition’s top goal-scorer.
The forward has since come to an agreement to join Brazilian side Cruzeiro from Millonarios once the South American season ends in December.
However, RTK have been told that Liverpool’s interest in Villarreal will not diminish, as they monitor the youngster ahead of a potential future move.
Liverpool set to watch Neiser Villarreal at Cruzeiro
Villarreal has once again underlined his status as one of the most interesting young talents in the world during this summer’s U20 World Cup.
The Colombian hit a brilliant hat-trick during the surprise quarter-final win over Spain and will head back home having enhanced his reputation in the eyes of the watching scouts.
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Having moved quickly to secure his signature in September, Cruzeiro will welcome Villarreal to Belo Horizonte in December.
But as journalist Graeme Bailey exclusively tells RTK, the Serie A side could simply be a stepping-stone to greater things for Villarreal.
“Villarreal is one Liverpool have liked, I think he’s more interesting than some,” he says. “When European clubs find out that someone’s doing a cross South America move, it isn’t a big issue.
“If he does well at Cruzeiro he’s going to cost a bit more, but it’s not like he’s joining Real Madrid. Liverpool like him a lot and they’ve done a lot of work on him, but him going to Cruzeiro is not a bad thing. They’ve really liked what they’ve seen from him. He’s a huge talent.”
Liverpool continuing to watch Ian Subiabre
As RTK revealed earlier in October, Liverpool scouts were impressed with the performances of Rion Ichihara during the U20 World Cup.
The Japan captain is a new player on Liverpool’s radar and they will continue to track his progress following Japan’s exit in the round of 16.
Meanwhile, RTK has previously reported on Liverpool’s interest in River Plate’s Ian Subiabre, and sources have confirmed that he has remained a player of focus during the World Cup.
“Everyone’s been watching Argentina,” Bailey confirms. “Subiabre is an interesting one, he’s impressed everyone again. Liverpool have done work on him and they’re aware of him.”
Subiabre has been a regular starter for Argentina, who will compete in Sunday’s final against France.
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