Valentin Larralde – San Martin de Tucuman’s intuitive midfield prospect
Valentin Larralde has an intriguing career trajectory till this point, as a youth player, he was released from Independiente and Gimnasia, two of the best Argentine academies before finding a home with Defensa y Justicia. Hernan Crespo promoted him and seven other youngsters to the first-team where Larralde was crucial in their Copa Sudamericana win. Once Crespo departed for Sao Paulo, Larralde was on the outside looking in once more as his playing time diminished and he was sent on loan to Arsenal de Sarandi and now San Martin de Tucuman. As his peers in that astonishing Defensa y Justicia side, Adonis Frias and Enzo Fernandez have continued to gain plaudits and are subject of European interest, 21-year-old, Larralde has continued to piece his career together in the Argentine Second Division.
Larralde is capable of more than the Primera B Nacional as he has been compared to Xavi while his Reserva coaches at Defensa y Justicia dubbed him the ‘Iniesta of Varela’, referencing the Spanish midfielder and the area where he is from as he was born in the El Pato neighbourhood in Berazategui. All the rejection in his career has been handled with a steely nerve and unyielding self confidence in his ability as a footballer while the 21-year-old is studious for his age, frequently watching Fernando Gago, Andres Iniesta and Kevin De Bruyne while he has already started a coaching course. At San Martin de Tucuman, he has been phenomenal as he can operate as creative and connective player in the eight space as well as a shrewd instigator of attacking moves in the ten space.
His head is consistently on swivel, dropping into space with an impeccable first touch, working wall-passes connections with his centre-backs as well as constantly moving to occupy spaces in between the lines. His body orientations in tight spaces allow him to receive possession, play one-touch connections as well as being penetrative with his through passes as a creator in between the lines. Larralde’s scanning and movement makes him a pivotal build-up conduit as he constantly creates good passing angles for his teammates as he can also position himself in between the lines to provide penetration by receiving the ball in between the lines. Defensively, he has the mobility and reading of the game to intercept passes, shuttling across the defensive block to regain possession quickly while he is adept at pressing and counter-pressing.
In a 2020 Copa Sudamericana Round of 16 match away to Vasco da Gama, his movement and the timing of his drops into space were brilliant as Defensa y Justicia would evacuate the six-space as a ploy to evade the Vasco Da Gama medium block as Larralde would make brilliantly timed drops into the zone to work wall-passing moves or to turn and thread penetrative passes to teammates in between the lines. The Argentine side would also switch to a 4-1-4-1 press with Larralde regaining possession in the opposition box as in possession, the defenders were encouraged to drive forward with possession, allowing Larralde to move into space and receive possession in between the lines. In the latter stages of the Copa Sudamerica tournament, Larralde would accrue more game-time while in the Argentine Primera Division when Crespo heavily rotated his side, Larralde would also gain more game-time.
In the semi-final, away to Coquimbo, Larralde would drop into space to receive possession and lay-off the ball for Enzo Fernandez to play penetrative passes in between the lines, with one of these sequences leading to an opportunity on goal for an attacker. Larralde would then receive possession in between the lines to thread a pass in behind for a striker to have a shot on goal as he was phenomenal at dropping into space to create opportunities. Larralde’s game is mainly about occupying space and receiving possession in between the lines as even if he back-passes, it brings an underrated amount of value of his team as he provides penetration with his positioning and movement while he can lay-off to a deeper player with a better overview of the pitch than him. In the second-leg against Coquimbo, he would receive possession in between the lines from a centre-back as he was closed down by three opposition defenders before laying off for a teammate and making a movement into the wide zone where he received possession again, playing another back-pass into the centre for Enzo Fernandez to play a one-touch pass to a teammate who threaded a pass in behind for Briain Romero to apply the finish. Larralde managing to be crucial to a goalscoring sequence with his positioning and two back-passes, touching the ball more than any other player in the sequence as his positional intelligence is highly undervalued.
Away to Quilmes for San Martin de Tucuman, it would be an exhibition of his off-ball and on-ball intelligence as he would start the game, leading the pressing phase after a back-pass from the opposition before he made a tackle to regain possession, surging forward to lead the counter-attack as he would attempt a cute pass which the opposition intercepted. He received possession by the touchline in the build-up phase with an opposition player marking him in tight quarters as he rolled the ball back adjusted his body to shield the ball from an opposition player and worked a pass into the next line with his weaker left foot. Larralde is pivotal to his team in the second-line, moving, scanning and adjusting his position to evade markers, dropping deep to demand possession or side stepping into space at the perfect moment to receive possession.
In the build-up phase, with the goalkeeper holding possession, Larralde would be positioned in the 8 space, his marker would push forward to apply pressure, allowing the 21-year-old midfielder to back into a pocket of space, the ball would be played to the six-space for a lay-off to the right-sided centre-back as Larralde would make a blind-sided movement into a bigger pocket of space in the centre as the ball would be played back to the goalkeeper, the ball would be switched to the opposite flank as the midfielder’s marker would shift across to mark him again. Larralde would scan to find that he was marked once more, side-stepping before holding his movement as the defence circulated possession, when the two centre-backs were circulating possession once more, Larralde would look to drop closer to the six-space as his marker would shift responsibilities to apply pressure on the San Martin’s deepest-lying midfielder who played the ball wide to the right. Larralde found himself in a massive pocket of space in between the lines and moved closer to the right flank to receive possession, using his first touch to nonchalantly guide the ball past an opposition sliding tackle, surging forward to attempt a through ball as his striker was unable to make the proper run.
That sequence encapsulated Larralde’s game, the movement to find space, the constant scanning and readjustment of position before receiving possession in between the lines and driving the ball forward as the transition was facilitated by his movement. After his team won a turnover, Larralde received possession to take a touch and lay-off a pass into the centre as there are some situations where he can hold possession for longer and look to play or drive the ball forward instead of laying off passes backwards. The 21-year-old then worked a one-two with a teammate to navigate out of a tight situation and find space for a penetrative pass in between the lines as the pass was behind his teammate and intercepted. In a similar situation to the one before, he made a run towards the right flank to receive possession in between the lines, by the touchline, using his directional first touch to flick the ball inside off the outside of his boot to play a pass into the centre.
In the attacking phase, he received possession to drive the ball forward, contorting his body to work a through ball to a teammate who flicked for San Martin to have an opportunity on goal which was saved. Larralde’s ability to contort his body in tight spaces makes him able to move the ball out of the tightest of areas while his overall body shape when receiving possession is tailored to allowing him to release the ball quickly through lay-offs as well as one or two touch passes. Larralde would work a one-two with a teammate to make a run into the channels and attempt to lob a cross into the box which was cleared. He dropped deep to receive possession, playing a one-touch pass to the flank to facilitate transition. He facilitated transition once more when he gesticulated for a direct pass, controlling a pass on the swivel to work a pass to the nine-space before receiving possession, evading a marker and playing a backwards pass for a teammate to facilitate a switch.
When a pass was made to the six-space, Larralde would scan and intelligently back into a pocket of space in between the lines to receive possession and swivel before he attempted to angle another pass to the nine-space which was intercepted. The 21-year-old is also adept at receiving possession on the half-turn which is crucial in receiving possession in tight spaces both in the defensive phase and attacking phase as after a turnover, Larralde would play a one-touch pass forward from the six-space to instigate a counter-attacking move. Larralde exhibited his passing range by switching a pass to the weak side from the centre of the pitch before he received possession under pressure in his own half, turning past his marker and spreading a pass to the flank. He switched the ball once more after a turnover in the defensive phase to instigate another counter-attacking move from the opposition’s weak side.
At home to Independiente Rivadavia, a clearance was fired into his path as he was under pressure for Larralde to play a one-touch lay-off to a teammate who played a pass to a teammate in the next line for San Martin to evade pressure. The 21-year-old then showed his penchant for brilliant progressive combinations, dropping into the eight space to receive possession to drive the ball forward before working a pass to the wide areas as he moved into the half-space to receive possession again, playing a one-touch lay-off to the flank as he was under pressure before he received possession a third time to turn and drive the ball forward before playing a penetrative pass to the nine-space. Larralde moved to the opposite flank to receive possession as he allowed the ball to roll inside him in between himself and his marker to spin and drive the ball forward as he attempted a lob a pass in behind, but it was too heavy for the striker. He will need to improve his distribution once he glides away from his marker as adding an ability to play penetrative passes to his ball-carrying will make him a more proficient playmaker.
Larralde would move into the right half-space where he would spread possession to the flank for a crossing opportunity before he would win possession in the counter-press, pushing up to make a clean tackle in the opposition half. The 21-year-old made another clean tackle as his marker received possession for the young midfielder to nudge in front of him and poke the ball into his stride to surge forward and play a back-pass to a teammate for a switch ball. The Argentine midfielder would be positioned in the ball-far half-space where he would receive a lobbed pass to control the ball with a measured first touch before spreading a pass for the fullback to attempt a cross into the box. After a turnover, he received possession to drive the ball forward and play a progressive pass into the attacking line. Larralde instinctively pushed into a pocket of space on the left flank to switch the ball to the opposite flank.
The San Martin midfielder received possession on the right flank, striding forward to evade a sliding challenge before playing a back-pass as he would continue his run in between the lines while the ball was on the opposite flank to receive a penetrative pass in the ten space as he controlled the ball but was tackled before he could have a shooting opportunity. The 21-year-old tucked into a central position before dropping to receive a deep pass in between the lines as he turned and saw a marker ahead of him as he adapted by intelligently working a back-pass with the outside of his back-foot. After a turnover, he received possession in the ten space to play a penetrative pass to the nine-space with his left foot before receiving another long pass in between the lines from his centre-back to take a touch and play the ball forward.
He received possession in between the lines once more, swivelling when he received possession to play a forward pass as Larralde received possession in between the lines once more to thread a deep line-breaking pass to the nine-space. The 21-year-old made a subtle movement into the ten space once a midfielder in his vertical line received possession as he received a pass to skip past a defender and send a shot high and wide of the goal. He dropped into the six-space to receive possession under pressure and lay-off a pass before moving into the opposition half to receive possession again and switch possession to the opposite flank. Larralde has a great understanding of the fundamentals of tight space football but is also capable of impudent tricks as he received possession in the opposition half with a marker closing him down to evade him with a one-touch flicked pass to a teammate.
In another match against Quilmes, he dropped into the six-space to receive possession, pointing for his centre-back to play the ball to the fullback as once the ball shifted to the wide areas he was making a move to drop into space before the fullback played the ball forward at which point, he occupied a pocket of space in the half-space to receive possession as the ball was not played to him. Larralde is master interpreter of space as he is consistently adjusting and readjusting his position to create passing angles for his teammates. When his team were in a 4-4-1-1 shape, he shuttled across the defensive block to make an interception as he would make another interception with the ball being switched to San Martin’s weak side for the 21-year-old to scan and recognize an opposition runner who he began to track, shuttling across to use his body to shield the ball to spin away from the opposition attacker to regain possession.
Larralde received possession in the deeper areas of the opposition half, moving in between the lines to receive possession, constantly scanning the three opposition defenders around him to receive possession on the turn to play a progressive pass to the nine-space. In another situation, he gesticulated wildly to receive possession before dropping in between his centre-backs as he received the ball and played a pass to his right sided centre-back before moving into the six-space to receive possession again and play another lay-off for his centre-back to play a long-ball forward. The 21-year-old regained possession from an opposition corner, trading passes with a centre-back to play a penetrative pass into the attacking line. Larralde played a one-touch pass in between the lines he received possession in the six-space to drive the ball forward and play a line-breaking pass to the ten space.
For U23 players in the Argentine Primera Nacional, he ranks in the top 20 for through passes as he ranks in the top 5 for general passes as he also ranks in the top five for passes to the final third. In progressive passes, he ranks in the top 15 as the only non-defender in that segment. He also ranks in the top 10 in progressive runs as the only non-wide player while ranking 2nd in deep completions. In general ball progression by runs, he ranks in the top 10 while in ball progression by passes, he ranks in the top 30 as the second midfielder on the list according to the WyScout rankings list.
Larralde is well-rounded as a ball-progressor as his ability to move into spaces to receive possession utilizing a phenomenal first touch, a brilliant awareness of space and tailoring his body shape to situations as well as an eye for a progressive pass all make him well rounded in facilitating transition. As a ball-carrier, he has magnetic close control to weave in and out of tight spaces with the ball glued to his feet as he is undeterred by lunges and sliding tackles as the 21-year-old will need to mesh his ball-carrying with more accurate penetrative passes. This will come with an increased understanding with teammates, especially his striker as he has wonderful vision and will be able to find strikers with accurate through balls to create more opportunities. He is used to play the pass before the assist as he ranks 3rd in expected assists amongst all available players with two but he is capable of creating shooting opportunities himself. He will also need to improve at creating shooting opportunities for himself as he tends to find himself at the top of the box with his intelligent movement as he can use his close control to create space for himself, but he will need to be more precise with his shooting. In terms of regaining possession, he reads the game well to intercept passes as well as being a fantastic counter-presser, but he could improve his tackling and ability in aerial duels.
Despite extending his contract till 2024 during the peak of his time at Defensa y Justicia, he has been surplus to requirements since the end of Crespo’s tenure. He has been loaned twice but he could be available for a cut-price fee on the summer market while he is capable of obtaining a British work permit due to his participation in Defensa y Justicia winning the Copa Sudamericana. Russell Martin’s Swansea City, Brentford, Celtic and Rangers would all suit his style of play exceptionally well while he is a viable replacement for Orkan Kokcu at Feyenoord. He would also suit the Belgian Jupiler Pro League, a few teams in La Liga as well as Sassuolo as a replacement for Maxime Lopez, Lazio, Fiorentina, Torino, Empoli and Bologna in Serie A. Matias Almeyda’s AEK Athens would also suit his playing style well as well as Garcia Pimienta’s Las Palmas. In Portugal, Vitoria SC, Familicao and Santa Clara as a replacement for Hidemasa Morita would all be viable options. Larralde is sure to be one of the most undervalued prospects on the summer market as he possesses high-level experience, potential while being able to immediately fit into teams in Europe’s top leagues.
