Brighton have announced the signing of versatile Argentinian Valentin Barco from Boca Juniors, in a move that will delight Football Manager fans.
The latest Seagulls starlet will be familiar to players of the game, with a record number of users having snapped him up on FM24.
Barco is the most-signed player in the game, a fact which Brighton themselves pointed to with their social media announcement of the transfer on Saturday morning.
The 19-year-old has been snapped up 237,810 times by managers in the game, and Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi has now followed suit in the real world.
Brighton sign Football Manager wonderkid
Barco is highly-rated for a number of attributes including flair, vision, natural fitness and determination and managers can avail of a €9.25 million release clause in his Boca Juniors contract.
The virtual and real-life versions of Barco are adept at playing on the left-side of the field, as a full-back, wing-back or winger. Barco has also played across the midfield for Boca, and his versatility is sure to be exploited by Brighton over the coming years.
The signing looks the be the latest in a series of gems that Brighton have brought to their Premier League, and their model of buying cheap and selling on for massive profits is unlikely to change when it comes to Barco.
Many fans from these shores have already suggested that Barco could have some Irish heritage, given his hair colour and the historic emigration links between Ireland and Argentina.
Unlike previous Brighton find Alexis Mac Allister though, who has roots in Donabate, it has yet to be confirmed whether any of Barco's ancestors left Ireland in years gone by.
Introducing our latest @FootballManager wonderkid... 🤩💫 pic.twitter.com/Udg1iwefxO
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) January 20, 2024
Football Manager 24
Football Manager 24 is playable on PC and on Xbox, Nintendo, and PlayStation consoles, with the game returning to PlayStation 5 after its first season on the platform with the 2023 edition.
New features to the game includes smarter transfers, squad building and finance systems; intermediaries; interaction logic; truer football motion, authenticity and positional play; and a refresh of set piece systems.
