Any time there’s a youngster making his way up the ladder, it’s almost inevitable he’ll be likened to a current or former star. For Kiko Sagardia, it’s Manchester United’s Edinson Cavani.
Unlike many of those comparisons, though, it appears this one may be on the money, with the player himself adding fuel to the fire.
AS cover the 19-year-old Uruguayan youngster today, titling him ‘the new Cavani’ and explaining why that may be the case.
They explain that the youngster ‘continues to grow’ as a goalscorer in the Copa Libertadores U20, where he has reached the final with his team, Independiente del Valle.
He’s the only foreign player in their squad, but that has not held him back, with the young striker ‘playing brilliantly’ and set to move up to the Serie B tournament in March.
This year ‘could not have started in a better way’ for him, with four goals in three games in the U20 Libertadores earning him attention and those comparisons to Manchester United star Cavani.
Part of that is because of his celebrations, in which the youngster ‘imitates his compatriot’ and his famous bow and arrow celebration.
There are also ‘aspects’ of his game in which he resembles Cavani, though, especially in and around the box, where is also ‘a real killer’. According to AS, his movements with and without the ball and his ‘reading of the game’ are all similar to Cavani.
The comparison is something Sagardia will be delighted with, having ‘himself confessed’ that Cavani ‘is his idol’, hence why he does his celebration.
“The first time I did it was at Defensor Sporting and in the Uruguay youth teams. If I score another goal, I’ll celebrate it the same way,” AS report him saying.
The similarities don’t end there. Both he and the Manchester United were born in Salto, a city in the northwest of Uruguay, and both started their careers in Montevideo, albeit at different clubs.
Of course, Sagardia has a long way to go before reaching Cavani’s level, but his name is one to keep an eye on, with comparisons suggesting he could be set for a bright future.
