Arsenal have decided to offer Chilean wonderkid Marcelo Allende a permanent deal after he impressed during 3 trials with the club.
- 18-year-old can now sign contract with Arsenal
- Allende is described as a ‘small and talented flyer’
- The new Alexis Sanchez?
- Worth the hype?
Patiently waiting for the player to turn 18 before they could offer him a deal, Arsenal have moved quickly after Allende’s birthday.
According to the Mirror, the details have yet to be thrashed out but he is expected to join ahead of next season. The teenage sensation has apparently been waiting at home in Chile for a call.
“I accepted without hesitation,” Allende said back in the summer when he arrived at Arsenal. “That you’re watching Arsenal, one of the best clubs in the world, it’s very cool.
“Being very realistic the differences are many in that Arsenal have everything, whatever, you care for.”
He also revealed that Alexis told him to hit the weights. “The other time I came, I could be with him [Alexis], [he] treated me really well.
“I was invited to watch a game because he was just injured. I saw him almost every day, we talked a lot, he was very happy.
“He wondered if I was happy. I told him [it’s] obvious that any child dreams of being at Arsenal.
“He told me ‘Do weights.’”
The new Alexis Sanchez?
Many have compared him to our very own Alexis Sánchez, but there aren’t many similarities.
Apart from being comfortable with the ball at his feet and showing good composure in front of goal when chances are presented, there are plenty of differences between the two.
As he told FIFA’s official website on the eve of 2015 World Cup, “I’m a fast thinker and always try to have the play mapped out before I get the ball – then just take a touch. I also like splitting the lines with a pass… that gives me as much pleasure as a goal.”
He also cited compatriot Jorge Valdivia and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi as his main rolemodels.
Worth the hype?
The midfielder isn’t rated highly for nothing.
Having captained Chile’s u17 side in the most recent World Cup, he stood out to many as one of the tournament’s most technically gifted players and despite a quarter-final defeat to Mexico, earned a move after the tournament from boyhood club Cobreloa to Deportes Santa Cruz.