Who is Maximo Perrone? Man City’s new Argentine wonderkid compared to Frenkie de Jong

Suraj Radia

Updated: 24 Jan 2023 07:17 GMT
3 min read

Maximo Perrone playing for Velez — © ProShots

Manchester City have signed Velez midfielder Maximo Perrone, with the 20-year-old hoping to follow in the footsteps of the club’s Argentine players such as Sergio Aguero, Pablo Zabaleta and Julian Alvarez.

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Perrone has joined City for a miniscule fee of around €9.3 million and Pep Guardiola’s side have reportedly beaten competition from the likes of Wolves, Benfica and Newcastle to sign him.

Who is Maximo Perrone? Analysis and Stats

City have been touted as pulling off a major coup, similar to their signing of Alvarez a year ago but just who is Perrone and what type of player is the Velez captain? FootballTransfers takes a deep dive into the South American wonderkid.

SUCCESS: Man City already have their Erling Haaland replacement in Alvarez

What position does Maximo Perrone play?

Perrone is a deep-lying playmaker who tends to sit in front of the defence but can also contribute going forward.

How good is Perrone?

Perrone was spotted by former Manchester United defender Gabriel Heinze, who managed Velez between 2017 and 2020 and saw the youngster playing in the club’s youth team.

The youngster broke into Velez’s senior team last season and has become the club’s most important player, netting three goals and two assists in 33 games, as well as their captain despite his tender age.

Perrone has been likened to Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong due to his ability to sit deep in midfield, spread passes and dictate play, as well as drawing comparisons to former Argentine star Fernando Redondo.

A left-footed midfielder by trade, Perrone is thought to have modelled his play off another Guardiola student Sergio Busquets, and he showcased his maturity as a player by leading Velez to Copa Libertadores semi-finals in his debut year.

Perrone had a release clause in his contract of €8m but City are set to pay more than that to secure his signing, with his deal at Velez previously set to expire at the end of 2023.

He is set to represent Argentina at the Under-20 Copa Sudamericano this month under their coach, former Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano.

What teams were interested in Perrone?

Perrone had attracted attention from all over Europe, with Newcastle and Juventus among the teams credited with an interest, but City have won the race to sign him.