Santiago Castro – Velez Sarsfield’s prodigious attacking force

Santiago Thomas Castro is part of Velez’ highly regarded 2004 generation including Mateo Seoane and Julian Fernandez who have been regulars with Argentine youth National Teams as they have all risen from the academy to the first team together. Santiago made his debut with Velez Sarsfield as a 16-year-old against Atletico Tucuman on the 4th Matchday of the 2021 Argentine Primera Division season. He added more minutes against Colon while he has made some intriguing cameo appearances this season as he will continue to gain more minutes in 2023. He is another young striker who has been developed at the club as Abiel Osorio, Mateo Pellegrino and Florian Monzon have all come through the academy in recent years.

Since the age of 15, Castro has always shown a professionalism and maturity which belies his years as his father Dario Castro, played with Communicaciones, becoming a cult-hero with the club as he was part of a team that won promotion to the Primera B division in 2005. Dario frequently advises his son, coaching him on what movements to make on the field as well as giving him advice on issues off the pitch. The younger Castro constantly maintains humility and a level-head as he is constantly focused on the tasks and obstacles placed in front of him while he has the tools to develop into one of the more intriguing young attackers in Argentinean football in a deep pool of options. The youngster was called up to the Argentine Under 20 squad as a 16-year-old and will be one of the players to watch in the upcoming South American Championships in January.

Castro is an interesting striker as he is a hulking physical presence who has played on the wing, through the middle and in a deeper-role as a shadow-striker as he possesses the tools to develop into a well-rounded attacking force. He can drop deep to receive early passes in between the lines with his feet and his head, connecting play and making runs into space while he can also receive possession in between the lines, using his body to shield the ball to swivel as he employs his close control, turns of pace and size to drive at the opposition defence. He can threaten by making runs into the channels or making runs in behind to receive passes, hold up the ball and work connections with teammates or weave into space to generate shooting opportunities for himself. His movement in the box is exceptional as he has potential to finish deliveries with his head and feet, ghosting into space to receive deliveries and have high quality opportunities on goal. His movement and shot locations are aligned with his metrics as he underperformed his expected goal number by a fine margin, accruing a 4.25 expected goals number while only scoring 1 goal in 957 minutes.

Away to Defensa y Justicia, he came off the bench as he received possession on the left flank, driving the ball forward and threading a well-weighted through ball into a runner in the channels for a cut-back which Lucas Pratto finished at the back-post. Away to Lanus, he came off the bench once more as under Alexander Medina, he has been deployed as a central striker in his cameos. The ball moved to the right flank as Castro was occupying the nine-space as Pratto moved to the nine-space while the 18-year-old was isolated against one centre-back as the winger drove the ball into the centre which triggered a Castro run to the near post as he turned his body to dart to the near post, slowing his run before speeding it up to be in the perfect position to receive a cut-back for a flick that was blocked and cleared. In a Reserva match against Godoy Cruz, he received possession on the left flank, surging forward to attempt a cut-back with his weaker right foot which was held.

Castro received possession on the left flank, taking a heavy touch as his body was positioned on the half-turn before he lost possession as moments later, a teammate received possession on the left flank for the 18-year-old to make an intelligent dart into the half-space where he played a cross across the face of goal as none of his teammates were in position to apply the finish. The teenager scored from a corner a few minutes later as a delivery from the back-post was played into his path in the centre of the box as Castro took a touch and calmly volleyed the ball home to open the scoring. In another situation, he tucked into the half-space to receive possession in between the lines, taking a brilliant first touch before sending a shot wide of goal. After a turnover from an opposition free-kick, he received possession on the left flank, taking a touch and threading a through ball into the channels for a teammate to burst forward.

Castro made a brilliant run to receive a cross at the back-post and head the opportunity over the bar as at the beginning of the second-half, he dropped deep to receive possession, swivelling away from a marker to drive the ball forward, poking a pass to a teammate in between the lines with the outside of his right boot before making a run to receive a flick-on from his teammate, striding into the opposition half to skip past two players and poke a pass for his striker to have a shot saved. He dropped deep to participate in the build-up phase once more, playing a one-touch pass into the centre for his teammate who would lose possession as Castro recovered quickly to make an interception on a pass into the channels. The 18-year-old received possession on the left flank, holding the ball and playing a cross into the box which was held. The young attacker received another switch pass on the left flank, holding possession and prodding the ball into the centre to work a pass into the central positions before taking up a position in between the lines as he dummied a line-breaking pass into an attacker and made a run to occupy a pocket of space, before making a run into the box where a cut-back to him was deflected to a teammate who applied the finish.

Castro is an immensely hardworking player as he can cover space to regain possession in the pressing and defensive phase as in a situation where a back-pass was played to the goalkeeper, he was positioned perfectly to intercept a long pass before tracking the opposition player to make a sliding tackle and regain possession in the opposition half. In another pressing situation, he tracked back and used his body to bundle an opposition player off the ball before surging forward to win a foul near the opposition box. His movement and the timing of his runs are exceptional as Velez Sarsfield would win a turnover before switching possession to the opposite flank as Castro made a run to the near post from the ball-far flank before moving towards the centre of the box to occupy a pocket of space for the delivery which was deflected. Away to Club Atletico Union, he came off the bench to receive a cross, heading the ball straight at the goalkeeper from point blank range in a situation where he could have scored.

Away to Argentinos Juniors at the back-end of last season, he began the game playing through the centre, making a run into the channels to receive possession, cutting past one defender as he used his body to hold off a second defender to cut past him and have a shot blocked. Castro then received possession in between the lines, holding the ball and threading a forward pass for a teammate to make a run into the box. The 18-year-old would drop deep to receive possession in between the lines once more, spreading a pass to the right flank as he ghosted towards the back-post as at the last moment, when a delivery was played into the box, he made a run in between two defenders to head an opportunity wide. He will need to improve his finishing with his head as he makes a lot of intelligent movements in the box to get into good areas as he will need to apply finishes from these situations. After a turnover, he received possession to swivel and flick a pass to a teammate as he made a run into the box, faking a movement to the back-post before looking to make a run to the near post as the delivery was blocked.

Castro received possession on the left flank to drive the ball forward, skipping past a defender to attempt a through ball to a runner in the nine-space which was intercepted. Castro had another headed opportunity from the top of the box as he was unable to generate enough power on the ball to trouble the goalkeeper. Castro can move into position to finish deliveries into the box while he can also use his size and dribbling ability to carve out his own opportunities as his mobility and hold-up play make him a constant thorn in the side of the opposition defence. The 18-year-old received possession in the right half-space, working a one-two with a teammate as he moved closer to the touchline, muscling his way past two players as he drove into the box and had a shot saved from a tight angle. Castro dropped deep to receive possession and spread a pass to the opposite flank. When a ball was switched to the right flank, the young Argentine attacker was positioned on the left flank as he trudged into the box like he was going to ghost to the back-post before speeding up and making a perfectly timed run to the centre of the box where he received a cross and volleyed over the ball over the bar.

In the second-half, Castro received an early pass in between the lines to chest down a lay-off to a teammate. The 18-year-old already possesses an intelligence relating to the timing of his runs, his ability to perceive when deliveries are coming into the box to meet them as possession was switched to the right flank while he was positioned on the left as Castro ghosted into the centre of the box as he made a run to the near post for a teammate to play a reverse pass but his teammate played the ball behind him. The teenage sensation received possession on the left flank to lob a pass into the centre of the pitch before he made a run from the centre to the left channel, receiving a lobbed pass to cut past two defenders and spread a pass to the opposite flank. Castro was positioned in the nine-space when he made a run in behind to receive a lobbed pass on his chest and lay-off to a teammate who sent a shot over the bar.

At home to Tallares de Cordoba, Castro came off the bench at half-time to receive possession in the nine-space, laying the ball off to a teammate as when the ball was played behind him to the six-space in the pressing phase, the teenager raced back, using his body to regain possession and work a pass to a teammate. The 18-year-old received a long ball on the left flank, barging a defender backwards to shield the ball before spinning to drive the ball to the by-line as he cut-back and laid off a pass to his teammate. The teenager would open the scoring when he received possession in between the lines to swivel and curl a strike past the goalkeeper from range. Castro would be occupying a deeper position to make a run in behind, stretching to receive a lobbed pass as the ball bounced off his head to fire high and wide from a tight angle. He generated another shooting opportunity for himself when he received a pass in between the lines to turn and send a shot over the crossbar from range. He received possession with his back to goal, using his strength to hold-up possession as he swivelled and threaded a pass to a teammate in between the lines.

Castro has the potential to develop into a high-level, well-rounded attacking force as he can drop deep to receive possession, make timed runs in behind to stretch the opposition while his movement in the box to get on the end of deliveries is exceptional. The 18-year-old could develop as a goal scorer with his head and feet as he needs to improve at redirecting aerial balls at goal with his head while he will need to develop as a one-touch finisher with the positions that he gets into. Castro performs better when he can receive crosses, take a touch and apply finishes with his second touch while he will also need to improve his shot locations as he can take shots inopportune angles and ranges. The young striker can drop deep to connect play while he can thread passes into runners, work connections to generate shooting opportunities from wide and central areas while he can make runs into the channels to hold-up possession and add continuity to attacking moves. Castro’s movements in the box are exceptional as he is well-versed in double-movements while the timing of his runs is phenomenal as he innately knows when to slow down and speed up his runs to burst into a pocket of space to receive deliveries. He is also aware of when to ghost into the box, stopping his feet to isolate a defender before surging into a pocket of space to have an aerial opportunity as he should show an improvement in his goalscoring in 2023.

Defensively, Castro can lead in the pressing phase, pushing forward to close down spaces and using his body to barge opposition defenders out of possession and force turnovers while if a ball is lobbed over his head then he can chase back and force a turnover. He is capable of shouldering man-marking responsibilities such as covering the six-space or leading the press and recognizing pressing triggers while in the counter-press, he has the skillset to react quickly and chase down opposition players who are behind him to win turnovers. In the defensive phase, he can drop back to win possession while he has the tools to develop into a counter-attacking conduit for his team, being able to use his body to hold-up possession and lay-off the ball while he can lead counters with his ball-carrying. Castro can be deployed as an inverted left winger, but it would be intriguing to see him operate and develop as a striker, bringing his well-rounded skillset to the position as he is similar to Borussia Monchengladbach’s Marcus Thuram.

Castro has a contract until 2025 as he is one of Velez Sarsfield’s most promising young players as he has been included in the Argentine U20 squad which will participate at the U20 South American Championships in January. Another one or two seasons at Velez Sarsfield will be crucial for him to gain experience and develop as a goal scorer as he has the potential to be a high-level player in Europe. He would be an intriguing piece of business for AC Milan specifically as they have signed young players of his ilk, have an older set of strikers while Castro’s playing style suits Serie A. In La Liga, Celta Vigo, Real Sociedad, Almeria and Villareal would be interesting moves for him as well. However, it is essential that he remains with Velez Sarsfield for the foreseeable future as experiences in South American continental football will be integral in shaping him.