Scouting Report: All You Need to Know About Sunderland Target Gino Peruzzi

Nationality: Argentine

Club: Velez Sarsfield

Position: Right full-back/right-sided midfielder

Age: 21

Height: 1.78m (5'10")

Contract situation:

The young right-back has been linked with various Serie A clubs, in particular Internazionale, for the past two seasons, but according to Ed Malyon of Mirror Football, Sunderland may be close to pulling off a transfer market masterstroke by signing Peruzzi.

Malyon writes:

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Now, despite being watched by Europe’s top clubs, it appears the rebuilding Black Cats may be on the brink of securing the starlet’s signature.

Boasting four international caps already, Peruzzi is eligible for an Italian passport and will therefore not require a work permit to complete a move to the Wearsiders.

Peruzzi confirmed to fans on Wednesday that he was in talks with Sunderland ahead of the Argentine league’s ‘Superfinal’ on Sunday.

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Comments from Velez general manager Christian Bassedas on radio station Rock & Pop confirm that Peruzzi is on his way out of the club, as reported by Ole.

Strengths

In short, Peruzzi has the potential be the signing of the century for Sunderland, especially if his price tag is around the $5 million mark as some reports are suggesting.

The player was already touted as future star when he established himself as starting right-back at Velez, one of the current powerhouses of Argentine football, but he really caught the attention of pundits with a flawless performance over two legs against Santos in the Copa Libertadores quarter-finals in 2012. 

Peruzzi marked Brazilian wunderkind Neymar out of the tie for the entire 180 minutes to confirm his status as Argentina's most promising young defender.

Consistently strong displays for Velez further added to his reputation, so much so that Peruzzi is now on the fringes of Alejandro Sabella's Argentina side. He was called into the squad for the Seleccion's last two World Cup qualifying matches and won a starting berth against Ecuador in Quito.

Why is he rated so highly?

"El Tano" is a technically gifted and tactically proficient right-back who shows canny positional sense and has a big enough engine to allow him to bomb back and forth down the touchline all day long.

In recent times he has also shown himself to be a threat going forward. Though he is not lightning quick, he has an ability to cruise past opposition defenders and send in accurate crosses. He is sometimes utilized as a right-sided midfielder at Velez.

It is Peruzzi's poise at the back, however, that is most noteworthy. He has the confident swagger of a player many years his senior, and that is generally an indicator of a future superstar.

Weaknesses

Most of the faults in Peruzzi's game can probably be put down to a lack of experience. 

He can sometimes be left flat-footed by pacey attackers, especially if he is not getting sufficient support from teammates. 

In the last six months, he hasn't enjoyed the same levels of consistency as in previous seasons, and his place in Velez's starting 11 has become less secure. 

Verdict

Any fee under $10 million is a bargain for this player, who will be worth substantially more in five years' time. 

All indications are that he is set to follow in the footsteps of Javier Zanetti to become Argentina's next rock at right-back.