Luciano Rodriguez: Could Charlotte FC win the race for the Uruguayan wonderkid?

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Major League Soccer side Charlotte FC are poised to hijack a deal that would see Uruguayan wonderkid Luciano Rodriguez join Feyenoord. The Dutch giants wanted to sign the 20-year-old winger from Uruguayan club Liverpool FC Montevideo in January, but a deal couldn’t be completed in time before the window shut in Europe. While Feyenoord remain in pursuit, Goal has now reported that Charlotte are now pushing to get a deal done ahead of the 2024 MLS season. The transfer window in North America remains open until April 23, 2024.

Market Value

L. Rodríguez Right Winger

€4.50m

The report by Goal, however, also stressed that there is still some work ahead for Charlotte to complete the deal. The MLS club will have to fight off interest from Feyenoord and Argentine giants River Plate and assemble a package convincing Rodriguez that Charlotte is the right step in his career. As for the transfer details, it is understood that if Charlotte are successful in their pursuit, Rodriguez will join the club in a deal worth around $12 million (€11.1m), which would make the Uruguayan the most expensive player in club history and one of the most expensive players in league history (overview).

Signing Rodriguez would be a significant coup for the MLS side. The 20-year-old winger right-winger not only scored ten goals and six assists in 36 games for Liverpool FC in 2023. Indeed, Rodriguez was a crucial player in a side that won the club’s first-ever league title in 2023. Rodriguez also starred for Uruguay’s youth national teams. The winger scored 11 goals in 33 games for Uruguay’s U20, including the winner in the 2023 U20 World Cup final against Italy (1-0) last summer. Rodriguez’s good run of form continued with the U23, for whom he scored five goals in four Conmebol Olympic qualification games. 

Luciano Rodriguez to Charlotte: Potential to be a good top 5 league player 

There is no doubt that Rodriguez has the potential to play in a top 5 league right away. But Transfermarkt’s Uruguay Data Scout Nicolás Correa has some doubts about whether Rodriguez will turn out to be an absolute top star. One issue is that Rodriguez hasn’t scored enough at the club level in Uruguay. That might be due to how Rodriguez was used at his previous club, Progreso. “At first, he was one of those players that were ‘sacrificed’ for the team as he was a striker but was more focused on running and putting pressure on his rivals rather than scoring,” Correa said. “This is when he played with Progreso, a very weak and defensive team. He was often employed as a second striker initiating pressure on the defensive lines.” 

Stats

L. Rodríguez Right Winger

Liverpool FC Montevideo

Career stats–
All competitions

Games

37

Goals

10

Assists

6

According to Correa, one of the reasons why Progreso used Rodriguez in that role is his physicality. “His physical presence is his best virtue despite being a young kid; he's always been strong, and you couldn't see a difference with the experienced players in this aspect,” Correa said. His other strengths include good technique and a solid mid-range shot. As for his weaknesses? “Something he needs to improve is decision-making; he usually tries to score himself rather than passing even though there's a better option to score,” Correa added.