Introduction
Luis Muriel, the 22 year old striker for Italian Serie A side Udinese and is most certainly a talented player for the future, he has impressed this year for his club throughout the 2012/13 season which has led to a number of top European sides keeping tabs on the Colombian frontman.
Luis Muriel signed a 5 year contract with Udinese in 2012. After receiving the “Joint Serie A young footballer of the year” alongside Stephan El Shaaraway there is much hype surrounding the Colombian striker, he performed well throughout the 2012/13 Serie A campaign scored 11 goals and creating 3 assists in 22 games. (15 of those games he started).
Style of play
Luis Muriel can play as a ST or alternatively as a CAM in some games, he is known for his blistering sprint speed and acceleration as well as having superb agility, aside from his physical stats he is an impressive dribbler on the ball and is a clinical finisher with a composed head in front of goal. He is seen very much as a team player during his time at Udinese often being the catalyst for through passes with an impressive 76% pass accuracy to team-mates and had 3 assists during the 2012/13 season.
The young player has been compared to Brazilian legend Ronaldo, and when asked by the media Muriel was surprised as he said “Ronaldo is my all-time favourite player, if i were to accomplish 50% of what Ronaldo did, i’d be pleased with my career.”
Situation
Unsurprisingly, Muriel has already caught the attention of some of Europe’s biggest clubs. Towards the end of the season, he was linked with Atletico Madrid as a replacement for Falcao. Their signing of Léo Baptistão from Rayo Vallecano may have put an paid to that, though. Liverpool have been linked also to the young striker as they face up to the possibility of losing star man Luis Suarez to Arsenal or Real Madrid.
If any club wish to take Muriel from the clutches of Udinese, they will undoubtedly have to pay excess of £20m+ as this is how highly the Italian side rate the player, and with Suarez moving closer to the exit door, Liverpool seem the main contenders for his signature.