On Tuesday reports emerged that Paraguay's latest teenage sensation Enso González was traveling to England and is believed to be a new Wolves transfer target. The 18-year-old forward has been of interest of several scouts in Europe following the success of his former teammate Julio Enciso at Brighton. But who is Enso González and what could he bring to Wolves?
⚽️ Enso González#LIBERTAD 2-0 Nacional#AperturaAPF2023#VamosGUMA pic.twitter.com/76px8Mh12d
— Club Libertad (@Libertad_Guma) April 29, 2023
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Who is Enso González and who does he play like?
Enso González was born on 20th January 2005 in Paraguay's capital Asunción, he grew up in the Tacumbu suburb near the river which is one of the more populous areas of the city. With limited green space that side of town his introduction to organized competition was through the cramped indoor futsal pitches where he developed his fast feet.
Although there are naturally many comparisons to Julio Enciso, González's upbringing and the fact he is left-footed is much closer to that of Paraguay's other Premier League star Miguel Almirón. Similar to the Newcastle winger many clubs overlooked him due to his unathletic build and despite being a big Cerro Porteño fan he was picked up by the Libertad youth program.
His ability to dribble in tight spaces in the middle of the pitch and short stature coupled with his favoured foot all point towards a similar style to the former Manchester City midfielder David Silva. In fact another former City player, Fernandinho, was on the end of a scintillating González display in the Copa Libertadores recently when he successfully dribbled the ball 9 times out of 10 and had 3 shots on target in a great battle with the Brazilian who is now at Atlético Paranaense.
How could Wolves line up with González?
As mentioned Enso González is left-footed but he has rarely been used as a classic left winger given that his technical ability allows him to play through the middle. As he broke through the youth ranks into the first team he was often played on the right hand side which allowed him to cut inside and shoot.
¡Zurdazo del juvenil Enso González para abrir la cuenta a favor de @Libertad_Guma!
📺 ¡Disfrutá del #AperturaAPF2023 en Tigo Sports! pic.twitter.com/HHtFO2Bsc4
— Tigo Sports (@TigoSportsPY) April 29, 2023
If Wolves were to bring him in he would immediately be the baby of the first team squad by some distance, being born 2 years and 4 months after Hugo Bueno who is currently the youngest player. With only 30 senior appearances to date it is unlikely he is thrust straight into the starting lineup and will likely be used sparingly as he adapts to his new life in England.
However, should he get minutes you could imagine that he fits into Gary O'Neil's system by replacing another South American starlet Matheus Cunha as an attacking midfielder. Or more likely to begin with we can see him replacing Pedro Neto on the right-hand side who like González is left-footed and of a similar stature coming in at 172 cm to Enso's 169 cm. It would give the Premier League side extra depth with Pablo Sarabia also able to operate in that position.
How much could González cost?
Multiple sources in both Paraguay and England have put the fee at €6 million for a five year contract with Libertad set to keep 20% of future sales. This could prove to be a bargain signing should the Pearl of Paraguay mature into a similar player as Julio Enciso who cost Brighton €10 million but according to Transfermrkt is now worth twice that in just a year.
Last month the football observatory CIES had ranked the youngster as one of the most talented U-19 wingers in the world giving him a rating of 2.60 putting him fourth overall and second in South America just behind Vélez Sarsfield's Gianluca Prestianni who is on his way to Benfica in the future.