Sunderland has been told by an expert that their Uruguayan target Luciano Rodriguez could be an excellent signing.
Sunderland are well known at this point to be keen on signing a right winger in January at the earliest. Despite an excellent season to date which places Tony Mowbray‘s side in the playoff places, improvements are expected.
Amad Diallo seems to always be linked with a move due to Mowbray’s known admiration for him. Alexander Aravena is another player credited with interest so far in this campaign.
While Kwame Poku is also tipped as a potential option for Sunderland to sign in January. But now another option has emerged in the form of 20-year-old Luciano Rodriguez.
The young Uruguayan currently plays for Liverpool of Montevideo and is believed to be a huge talent which explains why Sunderland are so keen.
Who is Luciano Rodriguez?
To answer this question, the Sunderland Echo has shared the opinion of Nathan Joyes, South American football content creator and founder of The Copa Club.
“Rodriguez can operate in a 4-5-1 formation, as we saw during the World Cup, but is comfortable on the right wing in a 4-3-3 for Liverpool. With the freedom down the flanks, Rodriguez possesses plenty of pace and is strong for his age. There would certainly be no issues with him adapting to the English game on that front.
“The Uruguayan has a range of finishes in his locker. Free-kicks, long range efforts, as well as finding himself in the right position inside the box makes him a very handy player – you only have to see his positioning for his winner in the World Cup final. An agile, intelligent youngster has the right credentials to take the next step in his career.”
It sounds like Rodriguez is a player who could be an absolute game-changer for Sunderland down the right side.
How much would Rodriguez cost Sunderland?
Joyes continued when asked about the potential price of the winger to which he responded: “In terms of cost, Fabricio Diaz moved from Liverpool to Al-Gharafa in the summer for around 6-8million (£5.2m-£6.9m) euros, and he was the U20 Uruguay captain and had the likes of Barcelona and Brighton interested. I’d guess Rodriguez’s fee would be close to half that amount.”
This would place Rodriguez’s cost around the £3.4m mark assuming he costs half of what Diaz did.
It would be the perfect time for Rodriguez to move too, given the Uruguayan league ends just before Christmas.