Charly Alcaraz opens up on Southampton transfer for first time
CHARLY Alcaraz opened up on a “dream” transfer to Saints, admitting: “One day you’re playing those teams on a PlayStation, and the next I had to play against them.”
The Argentine youth international joined Saints exactly one year ago from home town Racing Club, in a deal worth over £10million.
The move was pushed through via online football marketplace TransferRoom, which shares intelligence between agents, players and interested clubs.
Alcaraz, 21, has made 45 appearances for Saints, scoring eight goals and providing five assists – earning a call-up to train with Argentina’s senior team
The youngster is said to be of interest to Premier League clubs and other giants in Europe but signed a new Saints deal to 2028 in October.
Speaking to TransferRoom, Alcaraz revealed: “In November 2022, after we won the Argentinian Cup final with Racing, I was on holiday and my representative Sebastián López told me a bit about the interest.
“I clearly had a big interest to come because I saw it was a very good and well-established club. When I was 15, I had the opportunity to get into Racing Club.
“That was my first major accomplishment as my biggest dream was to play in the first division and make my debut for a recognised club like Racing.
“After that, like the dreams of any young player, being able to jump to the big leagues in Europe.
“Truthfully the change was in a short space of time but I was really eager to make the jump and I think it has been a great phase of my life, what I lived in Racing and what I’m living here.”
Alcaraz added: “I’m very happy to be here thanks to my agent, TransferRoom and Southampton’s interest. TransferRoom helped a lot to get the deal done so I’m very grateful.
“Making the jump to the Premier League and playing against the best teams and the best players is amazing.
“One day you’re playing those teams on a PlayStation and the next day I had to get up and play against them.
“We had the bad luck of being relegated and now we’re in the Championship, but with the same desire as when I arrived to go back into the Premier League.”
