Last time Fiorentina brought in an up-and-coming Peruvian winger, it worked out pretty well, although Juan Manuel Vargas certainly lived up to his Loco nickname. Now, la Viola are linked to Sporting's 24-year-old Peruvian international winger André Carrillo, who looks like exactly what the club need. And his nickname is la Culebra (the Snake), which is cool.
Carrillo is, in some ways, reminiscent of Vargas: he's fast, powerful, a good crosser, and can shoot from distance. However, where el Loco was more of a straight-ahead player, Carrillo's a tricky dribbler with a hatful of tricks to go around his defender, sort of like Juan Cuadrado. He's happy to stay wide and stretch the play, but he's good with both feet to drift inside and have a pop. He's also stronger and better in the air than you might expect, and churns up and down the wing tirelessly. And holy smokes is he fast.
He's supposedly available for just €7 million, which is about half of what he'd normally be worth, due to his ongoing battle with Sporting. He's refused a new contract, and the club has subsequently frozen him out, suspending him from all team activities for behavior "detrimental to the club's reputation," marking a surprising end to his career with the club he's played for since 2011. As one of the best players in last year's Primeira Liga, his signing would be a real coup, although Atlético Madrid are also sniffing around. Still, there's been official contact from Fiorentina, so this one isn't just a pure pipe dream.
He's got 16 goals and 39 assists in 162 appearances with the club, most of them coming in the past couple of seasons, as well 27 caps with 2 goals and 4 assists for los Incas. Also, he does this stuff, which is pretty rad.