Any fan of the Premier League would be familiar with the concept of a Premier League club signing talented young players from Ligue 1. Eden Hazard, Dimitri Payet, Yohan Cabaye, and Olivier Giroud are all players who came from the French league and showed their talents in England. However, even Ligue 2, France’s second-tier league, has produced brilliant talents such as Riyad Mahrez and N’Golo Kante, who have gone on to become world-class stars. And with the English club now interested in Sochaux’s midfielder Skelly Alvero, the issue has risen to the fore once again.
Aged 20, Alvero plays in Ligue 2, and news has emerged that clubs across the English channel are interested in adding him to their ranks. This is an impressive recognition of the talent that he possesses. Mahrez and Kante would go from Ligue 2 to the Premier League and become an integral part of Leicester City’s title win in 2016, showing that talented players are more than capable of handling the challenges Premier League brings.
So, who is Skelly Alvero, and how good is he?
How good is Skelly Alvero?
Skelly Alvero was born on May 2, 2002, in Stains, a northern suburb of Paris. He started his career in football at Red Star, one of the oldest association clubs in Paris, which plays in the lower rungs of the French league system. Playing across several age groups, Alvero’s name began to grow among the scouting network across France.
And his calling finally came in 2017 when he left Red Star to join Sochaux. Alvero was first sent to the club’s youth teams, where he played for three years. During this time, he would become one of the top young talents at the club before being called up to Sochaux’s reserve team.
He made his debut for the B team on September 6, 2020, against Paron FC. After that, Alvero would make two more appearances for the reserve team during the rest of the season.
The following season though, he would become an integral part of the reserve team making 21 appearances in the National 3 Bourgogne Franche-Comte. The season would also bring him his first appearance for the senior team when he played as a late substitute in the Coupe de France against Bresse Jura on November 13, 2022. Alvero would make one more appearance in the cup that season.
And his rise has continued this season, with the Frenchman clocking in 1.237 minutes across 24 appearances for the senior team.
Le 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛 de Skelly Alvero face à Caen en stats :
– 90 minutes
– 68 ballons touchés
– 48 passes réussies (94,1%)
– 2 passes clés
– 4/5 dribbles réussis
– 13/17 duels remportésNotre milieu #MadeInSeloncourt est en pleine montée en puissance ! pic.twitter.com/9FhKsSppNG
— 🇺🇦 (@FcsmActus) March 6, 2023
Skelly Alvero stats
In the 2021-22 season, Alvero scored two goals and provided four assists for the reserves side, helping them finish third in the league. And he has continued the form this season as Sochaux found themselves third in the Ligue 2 with a realistic chance of achieving promotion to the top league.
Alvero has been a constant presence and has been an enforcer for them in midfield. Stats from FotMob shows that he wins 56.8 per cent of his tackles, the best on his team and the 11th best in the league.
In addition, he has a decent passing success of 81 per cent with an impressive 72 per cent accuracy for long balls. He also averages two tackles and one interception per game. Alvero also wins an astounding 70 per cent aerial duels using his 2.02-metre tall frame to good effect. His physicality also aids him well during ground duels, giving Sochaux a massive advantage in the middle third of the pitch.
Skelly Alvero scout report
As mentioned earlier, Alvero’s massive height and physicality give him an enormous advantage, which is one reason clubs are interested in signing him. Alvero does not only win a lot of balls, especially second balls in the middle of the pitch but is also effective at moving the play forward with his impressive dribbling and passing skills.
His massive frame also means that opposition players find it very difficult to dispossess him off the ball, leaving no choice but fouling him, which wins Sochaux a lot of dead-ball situations in advantageous areas in the middle and attacking third of the pitch.
If that was not enough, Alvero also is successful at 73 per cent of his dribbles. This particular skill helps him play both as a traditional number six and a box-to-box midfielder, which has worked wonders for him and Sochaux.
In addition, despite being so large, Alvero is blessed with immense pace, which means that he is rarely caught out of possession and, at the same time, can cover a lot of ground in quick time to join in the attack for his team.
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Skelly Alvero transfer news
One of the major clubs that have taken an interest in signing Skelly Alvero is Crystal Palace. The Eagles are currently in 12th place but only three points above the relegation zone. And the team believes that Alvero can potentially increase the squad’s quality.
However, they face stiff competition from another top club Borussia Monchengladbach, who are also looking to sign a talented player. With the player expected to cost between €3-4 million, it is a deal that most clubs take any day, considering his talent.
Understand Crystal Palace and Borussia Moenchengladbach are tracking 2002 born Sochaux midfielder Skelly Alvero ⭐️ #transfers
Price tag will be around €3/4m, interest is growing as he could leave in the summer transfer window. pic.twitter.com/b8gIXZXr1Y
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 30, 2023
However, with Sochaux in a tight race for promotion to Ligue 1, Alvero’s future depends on whether his team gets promoted. Playing in Ligue 1 will require Sochaux to make a considerable investment in several players which is why they wouldn’t want to lose a player of his calibre. For now, though, Alvero needs to continue his development and be the best version of himself possible.