Gareth Bale, Angel di Maria, Arjen Robben, Raphinha; these are just four of the players reported West Ham United target and FC Midtjylland winger Dario Osorio has been compared to.
This, of course, paints a pretty enticing – and illustrative – picture of the Chile international’s talents.
Gareth Bale, Angel di Maria, Arjen Robben and Raphinha are, in addition to being some of the finest wide players of the 21st century, also renowned for their fearsome left feet. To make a more West Ham United-centric comparison, Jarrod Bowen is also worth a mention if, as reports suggest, Dario Osorio is back on the radar.
West Ham might have found Jarrod Bowen’s protege… 🇨🇱 💫
But do we need one?
Danish publication Campo claim – three years after it was reported that West Ham were prepared to pay £7.5 million for his services – Osorio is once again attracting attention from the London Stadium.
West Ham United linked with FC Midtjylland winger Dario Osorio
Campo report that, while AFC Bournemouth are currently ‘the most interested’, Wolves, Liverpool, Fulham and West Ham have made recent trips to Jutland. They add that Liverpool even submitted a bid of around £8 million at one point in a previous window.
Though, under contract until 2030, it will take a fair bit more than that before Midtjylland consider cashing in.
If West Ham are targeting Tomas Soucek’s successor in Cesare Casadei – the 6ft 4ins Torino box-crasher was linked last week – could they have Osorio been lined up to play a similarly protege-ic role under Bowen’s wing?
The Hammers skipper will turn 30 this year, while Osorio only celebrated his 22nd birthday in January.
Osorio has ‘elements of Arjen Robben’ and Gareth Bale
The youngster’s name will be a familiar one to Hibernian fans, meanwhile, for all the wrong reasons. A mere mention of him enough to send shivers down Hibs spines. During a 2-1 victory at Easter Road at the start of the season, Osorio fired Midtjylland past the Edinburgh outfit in the Europa League play-offs with a quite outrageous left-footed pile-driver from 25 yards out.
A strike that would not look out of place among a compilation of Gareth Bale’s or Arjen Robben’s best moments, let alone Jarrod Bowen’s.
“He’s one who cuts inside, likes to get shots off at goal, likes to attack,” scout Lee Scott told The Scouted Football Podcast when a teenage Osorio was still playing in his homeland with Universidad de Chile.
“When you watch him play, there are elements of Arjen Robben in that, when he gets the ball on the right-hand side, you know where he’s going.”
“I think that when he stands out more is when he plays like Gareth Bale,” added Johnny Herrera, a former Universidad goalkeeper. “He’s half a Gareth Bale lookalike.”
Osorio was labelled Chile’s answer to Argentina icon Angel di Maria by some. Comparisons with Raphinha, the former Leeds talisman-turned-Barcelona superstar, were also present when Osorio exploded onto the scene.
“Dario Osorio sooner or later is going to be a ‘craque’ [a top player],” said Raul Toro, who coached a host of Chilean clubs. “He scores beautiful goals.
“I find him very similar to Raphinha; Barcelona’s Brazilian. He is the jewel of Chilean soccer. At any moment, he can score a goal or provide an assist. In Chilean football, there is no one like him.”
Chile starlet would follow in Winston Reid’s footsteps.
Interestingly, the aforementioned Herrera claimed to have been told back in 2023 that West Ham had made a bid to Universidad de Chile.
Midtjylland eventually got their man; Osorio seemingly won over by the prospect of more regular first-team opportunities at a club who helped develop Alexander Sorloth [Atletico Madrid], Ousmane Diomande [Sporting Lisbon], Gustaf Isaksen [Lazio], Artem Dovbyk [Roma] and, of course, former West Ham captain Winston Reid.
With only six goals in 39 Midtjylland games this season, albeit with ten assists thrown in, Osorio still has a long way to go. Concerns persist surrounding a lack of physical power, decision-making and a tendency to drift out of games.
But, with long-time admirers like Liverpool, Wolves and West Ham still watching closely, it seems like only a matter of time before a move to the Premier League sees him follow in the footsteps of Bale, Raphinha, Di Maria and Robben.
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