Pedro De la Vega – Lanus’ enchanting playmaker

Pedro De la Vega made his debut for Lanus at the age of 17 as he is one of the leading talents at one of Argentina’s hotbeds of young talent. The week after he made his debut for Lanus, he played against River Plate as his side was thrashed and he was substituted at half-time to tears, showing his passion and competitiveness for Il Granate. While he had a solitary amount of starts, he was the subject of interest from Europe as with a run to the final of the Copa Sudamericana last season and a starring role with the Argentine U23 side in the Olympics, he is primed for a move in the summer.

20-year-old De la Vega has grown out his hair since his debut as well as sometimes sporting a soul patch which makes him look like the playmakers of a bygone era, sporting long locks which would fill the air as they would caress the ball with their feet. De la Vega is an artist of this sort, possession a phenomenal first touch in tight spaces, an ability to move and receive possession in between the lines as well as the creativity to create chances for himself and teammates. He has played as a central attacking midfielder as well as a winger under Luis Zubeldia as his best position is probably the former, where he can roam into the half-spaces and connect play while using his beguiling first touch and turn of pace to drive at the opposition defence.

The opening game of the Argentine Primera Division against Tallares De Cordoba was an instance of this when he received possession on the left flank to lob a pass onto the head of Franco Orozco to apply the finish. In the quarter-final of the Copa Sudamericana at home to Independiente, De la Vega he was deployed as a second-striker – attacking midfield hybrid as he attempted to link-up play from the central areas as well as thread through balls for runners in behind as he had one pass intercepted while he played another to strike-partner Jose Sand who went in behind and pulled his shot wide. He would create another opportunity for his strike partner when he stretched to redirect the ball away from an opposition defender with his first touch before driving the ball to the right flank to cut-back a delivery for Sand to have a shot saved. The 20-year-old would receive a switch ball to cut inside and smash a strike over the bar.

Away to Union Santa Fe, De la Vega’s first touches was beautiful as his balance to hold possession and slalom out of tight spaces was graceful. There was a moment where he worked a back-heel to Braian Aguirre as he received a lobbed pass on his chest to beat his direct marker and attempt to work another through pass to Aguirre. His decision making was intuitive as he was positioned as a winger who tucked inside while Aguirre overlapped with the ability to make clever movements in the half-spaces to receive possession and draw markers out of position. With a few steps, he managed to create space for Aguirre to push up as well as for his central striker, Nicolas Orsini to move into the wide areas. The 20-year-old Argentine playmaker’s feet are also so quick, receiving possession to beat his man with slight and nimble changes of direction to draw fouls as defenders can sometimes struggle to tackle him cleanly.

He won a foul off of Franco Troyansky after gliding past him while he tucked inside to attempt a through ball before he sent a shot wide from inside the box. He would then get in behind in the channels to cut-back for a teammate who had his opportunity saved. De la Vega is at his best when he can tuck inside from the flank, find spaces in the pocket to receive the ball and look to connect play and create chances. After playing professional football from the age of 17, De la Vega has added some core strength to his game as he can receive possession in tight spaces, turn to drive the ball forward and nudge opposition players off the ball as he looks to weave avenues into the opposition box.

Zubeldia utilizing De la Vega as a winger whose remit was to remain in the wide areas was quit limiting for the youngster, as he would receive possession and be isolated on the flank with no teammates to connect with, he would rarely move into space in the centre of the pitch while he could find himself driving into blind alleys with little ability to create a clear-cut opportunity for a teammate. However, he did continue to have subtle moments of magic, as at home to Union, a cross was made to the back-post for De la Vega to play an elegant flick as the ball was moving out of play for a teammate to fail to control the ball. He would have one opportunity to tuck into space and receive possession to take a touch and lob a wonderful pass to the winger making a run into the box whose cross was blocked.

He would make a run onto the right flank to clear a space for a pass into the box to receive possession again and thread a pass into the box for a striker to mis control. In the second-half, he would receive a pass in the channels to play a one-touch pass to a teammate to facilitate his team evading opposition pressure. Despite being shunted to the wide areas, where he did not receive as much possession as he would like, in the spaces that he would like to receive possession, he managed to tuck and be precise with his one-touch passing, connecting play and constantly looking to move the ball into dangerous areas. He is a very instinctive attacking midfielder as he likes to move the ball with his first touch in between the lines while he regularly take time to scan and survey his options before receiving possession and dropping into a pocket of space so he can make the correct decision.

At home to Velez Sarsfield, he continued to play on the right flank but in one situation, he tucked inside to receive possession on his back-foot to play a one-touch pass to the nine-space to receive a lay-off and switch the ball to the opposite flank. The 20-year-old was then involved in his side’s opening goal, receiving possession on the right half-space, on the edge of the opposition box to lob a cross into the box that landed on the striker’s forehead for him to tee-up a teammate for a strike past the keeper. He would then regain possession deep in his own half, to nonchalantly flick the ball past an opposition player and thread a pass into the ten space to start a counter-attack.

Away to Boca Juniors, he would still be in the same wing position as he would regain possession to drive the ball deep into the opposition half to thread a pass for a teammate who hammered a strike over the bar with an opportunity that deserved better. As a winger, De la Vega has developed a knack for hitting accurate switch balls to the opposite flank by connecting play to cut inside and switching a pass to the opposite flank or working clever one-twos before he eventually finds himself in the central space or the half-space on the opposition flank to facilitate a switch of play. Against Boca Juniors, he would receive possession in the channels from his centre-back to work a flick to a teammate to receive possession with his head up to identify a teammate making a run on the far side to accurately guide a long pass which curved around the opposition defender and into the stride of a teammate for him to have a cross blocked.

He would receive another pass into the channels to thread a pass into the centre, to receive a lay-off from the nine space with three Boca Juniors players surrounding him as he guided the ball away from one marker with his first touch to shield the ball before cutting past another marker to earn a foul. Playing on the flank may not have brought the best performances out of him but it has allowed him to grow as a transitional player, receiving possession in the pockets from centre-backs and fullbacks to connect play with flicks and clever movements into space to receive possession while he can also carry the ball to weave out of the opposition counter-press to thread passes to teammates to set his team on the counter.

De la Vega seems like a veteran due to featuring in the Lanus first-team since he was 17 as his boyishly clipped blonde hair and clear face has been replaced with long flowing blonde-hair and facial hair but it is important to recognize that he only turned 20 this year with a wealth of experience under his belt. In the knockout phase of the Copa Sudamericana away to Sao Paulo last year, he would receive possession in the half-space to drive the ball inside and cut-back to a teammate as the opportunity was cleared by a defender. He would then dummy a pass to beat a defender to drive into the box and play another cut-back into the box which was cleared as his standout addition to this game was beating Tiago Volpi with a rasping strike from range. In the final of the Copa Sudamericana against Defensa y Justicia, he was anonymous in one of his worst performances in a Lanus shirt as his team were thoroughly outplayed by their opposition.

His specialty is commanding the half-space, being able to carry the ball with passes into the box by running onto the ball from cut-backs or dribbling into the box with his immaculate close control. Whether he plays on the winger or as a central attacking midfielder, he likes to affect the game with passes into the box as when he works passing interchanges, he constantly looks to thread accurate passes through tight defensive lines into teammates to create chances. As a playmaker, there are many ways that he can create chances as he is a phenomenal crosser of the ball, guiding deliveries onto the heads of teammates or playing audacious through balls into runners. His body is built to receive possession in between the lines with a low centre of gravity, bobbling out of challenges with enchanting close control as he teases opposition defenders into fouling him as his first touch is consistently impeccable while he maintains a perfect idea of his position and options with constant scanning as well as a tremendous feel for the game. He may not have put in his best performances as a winger but his experience as out wide could help him grow into a more well-rounded playmaker. Playing out wide has also given him an appetite for the defensive side of the game, dropping deep to cover for his fullback, pushing up to win possession in the press as well as making key tackles and interceptions to drive the ball forward.

Lanus is one of the best academies in Argentina at the moment as their first team is well-stocked with home grown talent as their production line shows no sign of abating soon. De la Vega has been subject of interest from Norwich City as a replacement for countryman, Emiliano Buendia as clubs from Serie A have been interested since his debut. The 20-year-old starlet will be a key player for the Argentine U23 side at the Olympics in the summer as that will help his ability to gain a UK work permit as it will be meshed with his continental experience in South America. It will be interesting to see which club he joins as they are getting a highly experienced creative player who can grow into being a high-level two-way conduit in the future.