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#2 Valentin Castellanos
Age: 21 Club: New York City FC Market Value: €600,000
Born in October 1998 in Mendoza, Argentina, striker Valentin Castellanos spent his youth career at four different clubs-Villa Nueva, Independiente Rivadavia, Leonardo Murialdo, and Universidad de Chile. He finally found a home for himself at Universidad, where he made his senior debut in 2017 before moving to Club Atletico Torque that same year.
In his two years at the Montevideo-based Segunda Division side, Castellanos made a total of 30 appearances, scoring five goals. Castellanos caught the eye of the New York City FC scouts and coaches once Torque were purchased by the City Football Group, which includes Manchester City, Melbourne City and Yokohama Marinos, apart from Torque and New York.
The interest in him was concrete and finally, a move materialized in the form of an initial loan spell to NYCFC for the 2018 season, with an option to buy at the end of his loan also included in the contract. He would go on to play just 10 times in 2018, scoring one goal, but that was all that the club needed to make them exercise their option to buy in November 2018.
Under head coach Domenec Torrent, former assistant to Pep Guardiola at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City, Castellanos has proven himself to be a key member of the team. He started 24 of their 34 league matches last term, and also made seven substitute appearances as the club finished top of the Eastern Conference standings and now await their opponents for the final play-off series.
Castellanos is a striker in the mould of compatriot Sergio Aguero. Not a particularly physical presence in the penalty area, he thrives on his excellent movement and reading of the game to make space and fashion chances for himself. He also has a dangerous turn of pace, and is capable of playing off either wing as well as through the middle, which he prefers and where he is best.
Alongside the likes of Alexandru Mitrita, Heber, and Maximiliano Moralez, Castellanos forms part of one of the most feared attacking units in the MLS. In the season just gone by, he scored 11 goals, the third highest in the NYCFC squad, behind Mitrita and Heber. He also provided six assists, which means his total of 17 goal contributions are only topped by Moralez (20) and Heber (18).
He averages 2.8 shots per game, the second highest in his squad, and his conversion rate also sits at a decent 12.64%, something which he can easily improve upon as he develops his game. This season, he was involved in a goal every 126 minutes, another figure which is already good, but can get even better.
It is hard to see him breaking into the Argentina squad anytime soon, thanks to the plethora of attacking talent the country has at its disposal, but if he were to perform at a similar level of performance, for a club in Europe, don't bet against him.
