Nicolas Siri: Barcelona keeping tabs on "new Luis Suarez"
Nicolás Siri, a 16-year-old striker for Uruguayan side Danubio, has scored four times in his first two games with the senior side and Barcelona are watching.
A goal with head, another with his left off the top of the bar and one with his right from outside the area. A perfect hat-trick to announce his arrival on the global stage and help his side, Danubio, to a vital win in their fight to remain in the Uruguayan top flight. As calling cards go, 16-year-old Nicolás Siri has certainly made the world’s biggest clubs take notice and, inevitably, he has been christened the “new Luis Suárez” after just a couple of senior games.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona are keen on replacing the old Luis Suárez, who was offloaded to Atlético last summer in controversial circumstances only to fire Diego Simeone’s side into the driving seat for the 2020-21 title, with the latest Uruguayan wunderkind off the block at Danubio, a club that has produced talents including Álvaro Recoba, Rubén Sosa, Edinson Cavani, Cristhian Stuani and Diego Forlán.
Barcelona's Uruguay scouting network
Barcelona have a wide-reaching scouting network in Uruguay, one that has previously led to the arrival of promising youngsters Santi Bueno (now at Girona) and Ronald Araújo.
However, Siri does not appear to be in any rush to leave Danubio and unlike many of his peers he is more concerned with emulating the great strikers who have represented the Uruguay national side than moving to Europe to make his mark – despite professing a weakness for the prowess of Robert Lewandowski. “I am in the best moment of my short career. I’m achieving my dream and I want to carry on doing so,” he said in a recent interview with salimos.uy.