The South American leagues are a good platform for young players from the continent to shine brightly and earn a move to the big money opportunities Europe provides.

With a lot of young players making moves to the MLS in recent times, it is proving to be a market with value for clubs looking to find technical quality at a bargain price.

And even Premier League clubs like Watford and Manchester City have had scouts in the continent for a while, trying to poach players early.

In this article, we are going to look at three players from South American countries who could potentially be solid transfers for Celtic.

Agustín Álvarez - Peñarol

Nationality: Uruguay

Age (DOB): 20 (May 19, 2001)

Position: Centre forward

Preferred Foot: Right

Transfermarkt Value: £4.50 million

Celtic Way:

Agustín Álvarez is a player for the future and one that Celtic should keenly follow. Álvarez already has four caps for the Uruguayan national team and has scored one (vs Bolivia). Although he hasn’t started this season well, he was outstanding for Peñarol last term. Álvarez netted 24 times along with five assists to his name. His hat-trick against Corinthians in the Copa Sudamericana was one of his standout performances.

The 20-year-old striker is really good at finding spaces and moving away from defenders. Although his general movement isn’t at the level of his compatriots Edinson Cavani or Darwin Nunez, that is something he is getting good at.

Celtic Way:

His link-up play is quite good as he drops into deeper areas of the pitch and connects play. There is still improvement to be made in that side of his game but for a 20-year-old, it is quite impressive. In addition, he is a very intense player, running around and trying to win the ball back when the opposition is on the ball. He will close down players and press them in the attacking third.

Another key part of his game is his quickness to get on the end of balls. He is always looking to sniff out a pass and guarantee a strike at goal for his team. He is a shot-hungry striker and this comes with a negative too. He averages around 3.36 shots per 90 which is huge - but most of the time he is shooting from low-quality areas.

Celtic Way:

The above image summarises his shot taking and decision making in such situations. Despite having a very good passing option on his right, Álvarez decides to take a shot from an area that doesn’t trouble the keeper very often. The decisiveness in the final third is something that needs to be improved if he is to play at the highest level in Europe.

Despite his issues with decision making, being shot hungry also means that he creates opportunities for himself even from the toughest situations and ends up with a chance.

Celtic Way:

Celtic Way:

The images above is an example of how he sets himself up and gets a really good shot away. His shooting technique is also adept, being able to shoot well even if the ball is in the air. This is another skill that sets him apart. Álvarez isn’t just a poacher but also someone who can create chances for himself and the team by linking up play.

Celtic Way:

Álvarez isn’t a very potent dribbler but that doesn’t stop him from attempting them in the central areas of the pitch when he tries to move away from his marker and set up a shooting opportunity. The non-penalty xG and xA numbers are quite excellent for a player of his age. Despite being just 180 cm tall, he gets on the end of aerial balls. He gets into good areas in the box and has a strong leap.

Considering all things, not least his pressing attributes, the Uruguayan could be a really good pick for a European club and with Ange being known for getting the best out of players, Álvarez could potentially end up being the next big Uruguayan striker in Europe.

Luis Segovia - Indipendiente del Valle

Nationality: Ecuador

Age (DOB): 24 (October 26, 1997)

Position: Centre back

Preferred Foot: Left

Height: 182 cms

Transfermarkt Value: £1.35m

Celtic Way:

Luis Segovia is a player Celtic should have their eyes on. The player from Indipendiente del Valle would be a good option, especially as he something of a rarity: - a good ball-playing, left-footed centre back. 

Segovia has only one international cap for Ecuador (in 2021) but is a smart centre back in possession. His heat map shows that he loves to push forward and wide. This is because he is deployed as a third centre back in a back five for Indipendiente del Valle and is given the freedom to move forward when they build-up down the left.

Celtic Way:

As you can see from the visualisation above, Segovia thrives in possession. He averages 9.18 progressive pass attempts per 90 and is always looking to get the ball into the next phase of play. Not only that, he looks to play the ball forward with purpose.

However, there are situations wherein he takes time to release the ball and ends up making it a stale possession sequence.

One of the best traits in his game is his ability to go long and switch play when needed. The Ecuadorian has become comfortable at spraying diagonal passes from one end of the pitch to the other. He is also capable of looking out for runners and finding them by clipping passes over the top when given time and space.

Celtic Way:

Celtic Way:

As he is the third centre-back in the team, he does get involved in the midfield third, quite often acting as an extra man in the left halfspace in central areas of the pitch. He is quite comfortable at carrying the ball forward and then pulling out a pass that opens up good attacking sequences. However, he could do more to play in between the lines and could be quicker at making decisions with respect to passing.

Celtic Way:

Segovia grabbed a goal against Gualaceo recently and this was courtesy of him moving up the pitch and picking up positions that are left free. He ends up coming to the back post and heading a ball in, freely.

Celtic Way:

The 24-year-old isn’t involved in a lot of defensive duels normally but his success rate is well above average. He is not the tallest centre-back, standing at 182 cm and tends to struggle in aerial duels. A criticism that can be attributed to him is the fact that he can be caught by quick counter-attacks despite having a reasonable recovery pace.

At moments he switches off, but overall he is well capable of getting the basics right. He isn’t someone who goes down on the ground often and commits a challenge. He is quite passive in his duels as to how he waits for the right moment to win the ball rather than exposing himself.

Hugo Martínez - Libertad

Nationality: Paraguay

Age (DOB): 21 (April 27, 2000)

Position: Centre midfielder

Preferred Foot: Right

Transfermarkt Value: £1.80 million

The final player we focus on is from Paraguay. Hugo Martínez will turn 22 later this month but is already capped at international level. He played in the two losses against Uruguay and Brazil earlier this year. He missed the recent qualifiers due to injury.

Celtic Way:

Martínez can play in any role across the central midfield area. Although he can play as a defensive midfielder and also a little forward, he is best suited to playing in a more reserved central midfield role, being on the ball. His heatmap is a good indication of where he is involved.

Celtic Way:

The 21-year-old midfielder is someone who is more of an on-the-ball midfielder than off-the-ball. Martínez drops deep, providing himself as a passing option for the centre backs to build out from the defence. We often see players shadowing in behind the opposition’s first line of press. Unlike them, Martínez drops into areas to receive even if he’s under pressure and distributes it forward when possible.

He looks to play forward and progressively most of the time but he is more of a safe passer than a riskier one. That isn’t to say that he doesn’t attempt defence-splitting passes, as shown by the numbers above. However, he would rather have his team keep possession in areas where a turnover could hurt his team.

Celtic Way:

He has a good range of passing but loves to clip passes over the opposition defence. He always scans before receiving the ball which helps him move it quicker. He is constantly looking for potential runners and tries to find them. Although he isn’t the most technically solid midfielder, his passing is a net positive for his team.

Celtic Way:

The defensive side of his game needs to be polished quite a bit but his ability to shield the ball and carry it forward is often overlooked. In addition, he possesses the positional discipline to play deeper in midfield as he doesn’t get ahead of the ball unnecessarily. Even when he carries, he controls it well.

The biggest weakness in his game is his duelling and that is something that could prevent him from a quick career progression. As you can infer from the numbers above, his duel rate and duel attempts are on the lower end. Most importantly, he gets brushed past easily and he isn’t physically imposing enough. Despite being well-disciplined, he would be better off making tactical fouls in certain situations.

Martínez might not be a starting quality player for Celtic at the moment but definitely has the talent to be moulded into one, given he improves on his weaknesses.