Venezuelan winger Yeferson Soteldo has recently spoken about how much he would like to play for Manchester United. The 22-year-old wants to leave Brazilian club Santos this year and has been linked with a £32 million move to Premier League club Everton. Predominantly a left-winger, the Venezuelan can operate on the right and through the middle.
Soteldo signed a four-year contract with Santos back in January 2019 and has spoken about his love for ~United a few times now, more recently stating that he would sign a ‘lifetime contract’ with the Old Trafford club. Speaking one the El Drink Team podcast and reported by Gazeta Esportiva, at first talking about Santos then confirming he wants to move to Europe, the 22-year-old said:
“I don’t like rumours, I have my whole family in Venezuela. I want to finish this stage at Santos by December, win the Copa Libertadores and whatever is possible and then take another step. I always dreamed of playing for Manchester United, the dream remains intact.
“There are many steps to get there, but I feel I can. I want to go to Europe, but not to go and come back. I want to go and pursue my career with greater success. I feel like I’m prepared and I have to wait for the right moment to do it.”
The Venezuelan winger started his career in youth football playing for Caracas Fútbol Club then moving to Zamora Fútbol Club. He made his debut for Zamora in 2013, making 99 appearances and scoring 39 goals. In December 2016, Soteldo signed for Chilean Primera División club Club Deportivo Huachipato for around €1.5 million, making 29 appearances and scoring six goals.
The 22-year-old was then loaned to Club Universidad de Chile on a $1.5 million free with a buyout clause of 50% of the players rights, which was $3.5 million. He played 37 times, scoring seven goals for the club. The Chilean club chose not to pursue the player, instead he signed a four-year contract with Santos and has become a regular starter for Jorge Sampaoli – the former manager of the Brazilian club.
The player has been asked Manny things during his relatively short career, including whether he would choose United over the likes of Spanish heavyweights Real Madrid and Barcelona. The player obviously seems to have an affinity with United and seems to want to get the club to notice him one way or another. His response was:
“I’ve been following Cristiano Ronaldo since I was a child, I saw him at Manchester United and that’s why my love and desire to play at Old Trafford. I would choose them easy. I would make a lifetime contract.”
The player has done well at Santos and has become a regular in the team but is not really doing a lot to get the attention of United. A move to Europe could be forthcoming for the player but to say he would be on the radar of United would be something spectacular right now. Soteldo has played a total of 59 times for Santos, scoring 12 goals.
Santos president Jose Carlos Peres admitted back in March that Everton had made contact regarding the 22-year-old but it was also revealed that a whole host of La Liga clubs had also contacted the Brazilian club also. Peres, reported by OneFootball confirmed the interest of the Premier League team, also not naming the club from Spain, saying:
“Soteldo is a young player who has sensational skills. He is a player who decides the games.
“All the big teams in Brazil asked me, Premier League teams like Everton want him, and he has many requests from Spain.”
Brazilian legend, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pele seems to be a fan of the Venezuelan, who wears the famous number ten shirt for the club that he made a total of 656 appearances for, scoring 643 goals for the club that he played for from 1956 to 1974.. Pele, speaking about Soteldo, said:
“Soteldo is one of the players who has balance in midfield. He plays at the front, in the centre, on the left, on the right… He is a player who has been useful for Santos.”
It would be fair to say that Soteldo is showing a lot of promise in his career so far but it would also be fair to say that he is not currently at the level that United will be seeking. However, if the player is given the chance to playing Europe, with Everton amongst the list of interested clubs, there is a chance that United could be mission out on a special player. There is an equal chance that he might not shine in Europe too.
