Matìas Soulé, ‘the new Ángel Di María’ (18), plays for Juventus and knocks on the door

Monday, November 1, 2021 at 00:10• Daniel Cabot Kerkdijk • Last update: 23:54

In collaboration with Goal, Voetbalzone regularly highlights young players who can go far in the future or who are already earning their spurs in (inter)national top football. This time the focus is on the eighteen-year-old attacker Matìas Soulé, who has already been part of the Juventus match selection this season in the Serie A. The top talent in Argentina is often compared to his famous compatriot Ángel Di María, but he also reminds many of another compatriot, club mate Paulo Dybala, because of his game and his posture.

After Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure to Manchester United, Juventus must look for potential eye-catchers in the attack that the team can build on. Federico Chiesa has competed in major matches of la Vecchia Signora Although some still think Dybala is underperforming, he is expected to sign a new contract with Juventus before the end of the year. With Álvaro Morata approaching his thirties, the club hopes that Moise Kean can take over the role of first striker at Juventus in the coming years.

Kean is one of the few players from his own youth academy who managed to break through at Juventus and then return to Turin via a detour through England and France. Because the Italian record champion is also feeling the consequences of the corona pandemic, there is a chance that in the coming years the club will have to focus mainly on talents from its own ranks to build a team around it. That may be why Juventus were so keen to sign 18-year-old Soulé into a new contract in September, keeping the Argentinian youngster at the club until 2026.

Soulé has emerged as the new star in Juventus’s youth academy. He could almost smell the minutes in Serie A when he sat on the bench during the league match against Napoli at the beginning of September. Something he had forced all on his own. The teenager scored his first professional goals for the Under-23s in Serie C. He was also responsible for Juventus’ opening goal in a 3-1 win over Chelsea in the UEFA Youth League.

Soulé has only been under contract with Juventus since January last year. He received his football education in his home country until the age of 16 with Vélez Sarsfield. The Argentine club hoped that the youth exponent would move on to the first team. Vélez offered Soulé a first professional contract at the end of 2019, but due to a difference of opinion between the parties involved, a breakthrough in the Argentine Primera División did not come about. Instead, the teenager left Vélez for free and for nothing.

Juventus were only too happy to pick up the talent and after the corona pandemic put an early end to his first season, he became the star of the Under-19 squad over the course of the 2020/21 season. Soulé scored 5 goals and also provided 5 assists in 27 games for the youth team. While those numbers aren’t particularly eye-catching, his overall performance did catch the eye of many onlookers. Soulé is often compared to Di María in his native Argentina for his excellent technique, but he is more direct in his game than his compatriot fifteen years older.

Soulé often plays from the right, allowing him to cut inwards to shoot or cross with his left foot. he has also proven to be deadly from free kicks. The young man himself sees Dybala as his great idol. Soulé also prefers to play as number ten, but at Juventus he seems to have a greater chance of breaking through as a right winger. “I see myself more as an attacking midfielder, but I don’t mind playing left or right,” he recently said in an interview with ASH.

“However, I prefer to play in the middle. I like to dribble, go one-on-one and give through passes,” he summed up his qualities. The young forward is patient when it comes to his big break. “The next goal for me is to make my official debut for the Juventus first team. I hope it will happen this season, but I dare not say.” It is far from a tradition at Juventus to throw talents to the lions. For example, Dejan Kulusevski and Kaio Jorge have to make do with (sparing) substitutes under Allegri this season. It therefore seems unlikely that Soulé will make many playing minutes in the first team in the short term.

Soulé caught the attention of Allegri last summer while preparing for the new season. The trainer let the Argentinian train along with his selection and he immediately impressed during some friendlies with his personality and professionalism, as well as his performance on the field. The attacker scored during an exhibition win over Cesena (3-1) and recently also scored twice in a friendly against Chieri (7-0 win) during the international match in October.

The people who know Soulé well are the first to mention his passion for football. While he’s happy to make time for his PlayStation when he’s not on the pitch, he’s aware that he’ll have to work hard to make it at a club of Juventus’ caliber. “This is just the beginning and I will give everything to achieve my goals,” he said after signing his new five-year deal. “Thank you also to the club that supports me unconditionally.”

That support means Soulé will no longer have to play against his peers (except in the Youth League) and is already proving that he can make a significant contribution at lower league levels with Juventus’ Under-23s. Soulé’s sky-high ambitions can only be commended. If he continues to prove himself in Serie C, the eighteen-year-old top talent will certainly earn a chance in the first team of Allegri sooner or later. He is not a replacement for Ronaldo, but Soule is a player with the potential to play a key role in the era following the Portuguese superstar’s departure from Juventus.