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For scouts from most Premier League clubs, the Under-17 World Cup at the end of last year was a chance to see some of the best young players in the world in person for the first time. But for a select few, such as Brighton and Manchester City, who have been quick to capitalize on football's increasingly global pool of emerging talent, the tournament in Indonesia was more about crossing their fingers and hoping their secrets remained hidden.
"Every time a player travels to an international tournament, their clubs understand that there will be many foreign clubs watching them live and that always increases the interest," says Matías Lipman, who works as an intermediary for South American players. "They give them a lot of visibility and the local clubs know that."
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Just ask City. The European champions finally agreed to pay Claudio Echeverri's €25m (£21.4m) release clause after El Diablito (little devil) scored a hat-trick in Argentina's 3-0 win over Brazil in the quarter-finals to stave off interest from Barcelona and Chelsea despite scouting him for almost two years. Echeverri, who turned 18 on January 2, is expected to stay at River Plate for another year before following in Julián Álvarez's footsteps and leaving Argentina's Primera División for the Premier League.
Alvarez's move to City was announced on his 22nd birthday in January 2022 and the striker arrived in England just six months later. But Echeverri's transfer reflects a fast-growing trend of clubs signing players from outside Europe at increasingly younger ages. He will probably have only just turned 19 and is expected to go out on loan.
"A key reason is Brexit and the new points system introduced as a result - which has facilitated the transfer of younger players from all over the world," says Lipman. "The Premier League is interested in the best South American talent and so instead of them going to other leagues first, the new rules mean they can sign players like Álvarez and Echeverri, who would have eventually moved to Europe anyway. But now they can buy them earlier and for less."
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The Government Body Endorsement (GBE) system introduced in January 2021 post-Brexit meant that clubs anywhere in the world could sign players over the age of 18, as long as they met the points requirements for playing in their domestic leagues or for their players. National team.
That was significantly updated in June last year, with English league clubs allowed to sign two players who do not meet points requirements - known as elite significant contributors (ESC) - in a move described by the Football Association as 'a new football solution' . that works for everyone and provides additional access to exceptional international talent." Premier League and Championship clubs can take up to two additional ESC players - or as some scouts have taken to calling them, 'wildcards' - depending on the percentage of minutes they offer to English players, either in the first team or on loan.
"It has made it much easier for clubs to take a chance on a young player from the other side of the world," says a scout from a leading Premier League club who asked not to be named.
Brighton did not need a wildcard to secure the signing of Valentín Barco from Boca Juniors. The 19-year-old defender had achieved the required points to obtain a work permit after clubs in the top divisions of Argentina, Brazil and Mexico were upgraded to the top tie when the original points system began three years ago. But it is understood that Brighton were one of the few Premier League clubs to oppose expanding the rules to attract players who do not meet visa requirements - perhaps unsurprising given their previous successes in South America under the existing system .
Barco, who has rejected City's interest, is expected to be slowly introduced into Roberto De Zerbi's squad, with Brighton using the approach adopted to Moisés Caicedo and several other imports such as Argentina's Facundo Buonanotte and Paraguayan Julio Enciso, to help integrate.
"There are big opportunities here in South America and some English clubs understood this very early, such as Brighton," says Lipman. "But most are still reluctant to do business directly with local clubs because they don't want to take risks and are afraid the adjustment might not work. Players prefer to develop elsewhere and then assess whether they are ready for the Premier League. Not all clubs have the same philosophy, but more and more clubs are realizing what bargains there are to be had."
Chelsea has become increasingly active in South America since the acquisition of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital. They have snapped up Ecuadorian prodigy Kendry Páez after he became the youngest South American to score in a World Cup qualifier in October at 16 years and 161 days old. Páez, who will remain at Caicedo's former club Independiente del Valle until he is 18, will not be eligible to make his debut for Chelsea until the start of the 2025/26 season.
That hasn't stopped them from making a move for Estêvão Willian, a 16-year-old Brazilian known as Messinho, who plays for Palmeiras and starred at the Under-17 World Cup. Arsenal and Barcelona are among the other clubs believed to be interested, but Chelsea technical director Laurence Stewart was reportedly in Brazil last week to discuss the €60m (£51.4m) release clause - a fee that would not be far below £51.4 million. They paid 58 million to sign Roméo Lavia, a British record for a teenager. That brand was previously owned by Anthony Martial for almost a decade after he moved from Monaco to Manchester United for £44.7 million in 2013, but as Lipman acknowledges, the market is changing rapidly.
"The clubs know the players very well and have their eyes open," he says. "There are scouting systems all over the world where a lot of people work very hard to find the next big star. It's very different from five years ago, when you'd never seen English clubs signing players straight from South America. I am sure there will be many more to come in the coming years."
Chelsea are also believed to have signed Pape Daouda Diong from Dakar-based AF Darou Salam following his impressive performances for Senegal in Indonesia. The 16-year-old, who is also expected to move to London when he turns 18, was with Páez at Stamford Bridge for Chelsea's Carabao Cup win over Newcastle in December and could become a trendsetter for signing players directly from clubs in Africa . Amara Diouf, a 15-year-old winger from Sadio Mane's former club Génération Foot who has made his senior international debut, is on the radar of several major Premier League clubs after being nominated for young African player of the year. The focus has been on attracting the best 16-year-olds from Europe, but that option is not available so clubs have had to look elsewhere," says the scout. "It has made it a much more level playing field for players from other parts of the world."