Dario Osorio is being encouraged to make a move to England with Premier League duo Wolves and West Ham United potentially battling Leicester City for the Chile international.
With the Golden Generation of Alexis Sanchez, Arturo Vidal, Mauricio Isla and co long gone, 19-year-old Dario Osorio is emerging as one of the bright young things under pressure to guide the Chilean national team into a bold new era.
The teenager already has two caps for his country. He also scored seven times during a scintillating breakthrough campaign at Universidad de Chile; his wicked wing play and long-range shooting earning comparisons with Angel di Maria, Gareth Bale and Raphinha.
Speculation over Osorio’s future, meanwhile, continues to swirl.
Wolverhampton Wanderers reportedly agreed a deal with Universidad last year, and remain interested (Express and Star).
Universidad legend Johnny Herrera, meanwhile, claims to have been told by club bosses that both West Ham and Leicester have submitted bids over the last few months, the Foxes willing to stump up a fee of £6.7 million.
Is Dario Osorio joining Wolves or West Ham?
Some have suggested that a move to England would come too soon in Osorio’s career. Gerardo Reinoso, however, sees things differently.
“I think he’s going to learn more in England than in Chile,” Reinoso, who played in Chile for Universidad Catolica amongst others, tells BolaVip.
“The faster he gets out, the better. He will add more experience, he’s going to grow as a professional and it’s going to be good for him to leave.
“He’s going to bring a lot of joy to Chilean football.”
Osorio, who prefers to play on the right while cutting in onto his favoured left foot, may be tempted by the chance to join a West Ham side who claimed the UEFA Conference League in midweek, potentially as an understudy to Prague matchwinner Jarrod Bowen.
Leicester, meanwhile, will need an injection of creativity if – as expected – both James Maddison and Harvey Barnes depart after relegation.
“(Osorio’s sale will be) the largest transfer in Chilean football in more than a decade,” journalist Juan Cristobal Guarello writes in La Tercera.
“Dario Osorio is good; really good. He carries the ball well. He knows how to turn, he has power, technique and strikes hits the ball in an extraordinary way. With the right support and work he can get his full potential.
“There is talk of ten million dollars, no less. A figure that we have not seen since the time of the birth of the ‘Golden Generation’.”
