Angel Martin Correa-Martinez has shined in the face of grave adversity, losing his father and brother as a child while discovering he has a tumour in his heart, that could prove to be fatal enough to end his football career, in its infancy.
Used mostly as a super-sub last season for Atletico Madrid, the 22-year-old Argentine has drawn comparisons with his compatriot, Sergio Aguero owing to the equaliser against Barcelona last season at the stroke of an hour. 10 years ago, Aguero had levelled against Barcelona in a similar fashion at the Camp Nou to earn his team a draw.
Growing up in a poor neighbourhood, in the city of Rosario, Argentina, the young man displayed exemplary attitude, firmly refusing the lure of drugs and crime. After a successful microsurgery to remove the heart tumour, Correa made his debut for Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2015 while simultaneously earning a call-up to the national team.
Vying for a spot in Diego Simeone’s team with the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Torres, Luciano Vietto and Yannick Ferreira Carrasco ahead of him, the 22-year-old looks set to carry forward Atletico Madrid’s tradition of producing great forwards à la Christian Vieri, Fernando Torres, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Sergio Agüero, Diego Forlan, Radamel Falcao and Diego Costa et al.
With the imminent arrival of Diego Costa back in the Atletico Madrid fold, and Correa seeking more game time, a move could be on the line this summer with clubs like Liverpool interested in securing the services of the player.
Still two years left on the Argentine’s contract with Atletico, the Reds have reportedly offered the player a 5-year contract worth £2.5m a year. Correa is playing the long game with the Anfield outfit, holding on for a better contract worth around £4m a year.
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool finished inside the top-4 in the German’s first full season at the club last year. Klopp would have higher ambitions this season after securing a Champions League spot for his storied club, post a 3-year absence.
Liverpool have unveiled Mohamed Salah from Roma and Chelsea’s Dominic Solanke so far and looks intent on spending more money in this window to bolster their squad further.
While Roberto Firmino looks set to lead the lines, ably assisted by the likes of Coutinho, rumoured to be played in a more central role with Mane and Salah on the flanks, Correa could provide cover in any of these positions owing to his versatility.
Former Argentina and Barcelona manager, Gerardo Martino is admittedly a fan of the player. “Sometimes it’s confusing where he’s playing”, Martino said in an interview.
“He’s a player with a half-defined position. I’m not that interested in where he plays. He has the capacity for goals.”
Boasting a great first touch, what makes the player very dangerous to defend against, is his freakishly low centre of gravity. But the USP of the Argentine would be the fact that he is mature beyond his years and having experienced a very difficult childhood, the player has extraordinary mental strength to boot.
It remains to be seen whether the player, standing at 5ft 8in can adapt to the immensely physical English league should the move to Liverpool go through. With Atletico Madrid’s transfer ban in place, a lack of a replacement till January could prove to be a stumbling block in the 22-year-old’s move to Anfield.
