Spurs still watching Driussi

Last summer the ITK guys were saying we were after a 17-year-old Argentinian forward but didn't know his name. Since then two candidates have emerged.

Spurs still watching Driussi


Tottenham have been showing an interest in Ezequiel Ponce of Newell's Old Boys, Pochettino's former club and Sebastian Driussi of River Plate, who have one of the best youth academies in the world.

In this article we'll concentrate on Sebastian Driussi.

Sebastian Driussi

Country: Argentina
Date of birth: 09/02/1996 (17 years old)
Place of birth: Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Height: 1,80m
Club career: Club Atletico River Plate
Current national team: Argentina U-17
Position: winger, secondary striker, striker
Preferred foot: right
Similar type of player: Hernan Crespo
Agent: Luis Camacho
Personality: Level-headed, light-hearted

The River Plate youth system is among the best in the world and they are famed for producing strikers. Our own Erik Lamela was a product of the academy there, he joined them as a seven-year-old and as an eleven-year-old scored 120 goals in a season.

Sebastian Driussi is and 18-year-old striker who has come through the River Plate youth system and is now just starting to build up game time with the first team. He has made 3 full appearances and 7 as a substitute, although some of those were only for a few minutes. In 16 Argentina U17 games he has scored 7 goals and caught the eye.

Driussi along with Ponce is regarded as one of the best prospects in Argentina. Driussi played in the Under 17 World Cup after scoring five times during the U17 Sudamericano. Those five included one which stood out, a quite sublime bicycle kick from the edge of the area against Uruguay.

At that World Cup in UAE he was the focal point of the Argentinian attack so hold up play was an important part of his role. He has skill and pace to compliment his goalscoring ability. He has acceleration, dribbling skill, technical ability and a footballing brain, by that I mean he uses his off the ball running intelligently and seems to have an instinct as to where to be.

Like Roberto Soldado when he joined us, he is a fox in the box type of striker, excellent in one-on-one situations. He is tricky so draws a lot of fouls and likes to play on the last man. Through balls to beat the offside trap are meat and drink with his acceleration and pace.

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Tottenham need to find a young South American who could become the next great South American forward and sign them cheaply before they reach the £35 million plus stage. Both of these are expected to reach that mark but Tottenham is not a well worn route for South American players, who usually have third party owners we would have to buy out.

Watching the video below, that shows his all round play, not just his goals, you can see why he is highly regarded ans expected to join the long line of great Argentinian strikers. Snapping someone like this as a youngster could save a fortune in the long run.