Argentina’s top youngsters are having doubts about moving to the Premier League after seeing their World Cup stars targeted by fans.
The top flight is feeling the aftershocks of Argentina’s controversial victory over England in the World Cup semi-final, with Enzo Fernandez, Lisandro Martinez and Valentin Barco among the players to cop abuse from rival supporters during the opening weeks of the campaign.
Premier League clubs scout extensively in South America and try to find the best players before they move to other European clubs, where their value will increase quickly.
Tomas Aranda, Leonel Flores and Tobias Andrada are just three of the outstanding young talents in the Argentine top flight who are on the radar of Premier League clubs.
Yet Daily Mail Sport has spoken to recruitment experts in Argentina who believe their top prospects may be advised to move to Spain, Portugal or Italy while the atmosphere in England remains hostile.
Enzo Fernandez provocatively celebrated scoring for Argentina against England at the World Cup and has been targeted by fans back in the Premier League
While senior internationals like Fernandez and Martinez can handle the heat, it would be a significant extra challenge for inexperienced players already adapting to a new league, culture and lifestyle.
Fernandez, then with Chelsea but now with Manchester City, scored the equaliser in the semi-final and then infuriated England supporters with a provocative celebration.
Despite being an unused substitute, Barco celebrated Argentina’s goals wildly and Jude Bellingham slapped him on the back of the head after the final whistle.
Meanwhile Martinez displayed a banner bearing the words ‘Las Malvinas son Argentinas’ (The Falklands are Argentina’s), for which FIFA fined the Argentine FA £237,000.
