The world is full of young football talents. They grow up in the streets of São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Abuja or Belgrade, and the world is literally to their feet, so to speak.
These lads are on a mission to become the stars we will watch tomorrow. The next Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi or João Felix.
At the same time, there are beautiful projects that focus on these players, from the Guardian’s top 60 young footballers yearly plan, the unique and high-quality Scouted Football, among others.
We are not going to compete with them. However, in our work and research in BabaGol, we discover many players that don’t get the focus or the chance to showcase what they can produce.
With that in mind, we have decided to share snippets of our source of knowledge. Our shadow scout, Juan Gafas, will pop-up weekly and will put the spotlight on one player that is worth your attention. This can be viewed as a tip for all BabaGolers to meet the next Jamie Vardy and Dado Pršo, or maybe the next Gary Medel or Jorge Valdivia, a moment (or a few years) before they become famous.
This time, we scout on a talented young Uruguayan midfielder.
Manuel Ugarte
Age: 18
Club: Fenix (Uruguay)
Position: Central Midfielder
Nationality: Uruguayan
Market Value: €75,000 (Transfermarkt)
Why follow him? Already flagged as a potential Celeste in the future, Ugarte's strong character, excellent work-rate and physical attributes lay a very good base for further development.
Ugarte's high stamina levels and excellent work-rate are evident with him interrupting the opponents play all over the pitch, while still having the energy to go forward when possible. He can dribble away from trouble, doesn't lose the ball too often, and might have more in him going forward than the little we saw so far. He made his professional debut when he was 15 years old and keeps working hard, taking extra athletic training on his own account, the boy has potential but he will have to play in better standards soon in order to fulfill it.