Chelsea’s Valentin Barco shines for Argentina to kick off the post-Lionel Messi era
Valentin Barco turned heads with an impressive performance for Argentina.
Valentin Barco’s time at Chelsea this season has been pretty stop-start, with his best moments coming in the cup games. He was brilliant against Leeds, grabbing a goal and an assist in a dominant performance, and put in a solid 90 minutes against Luton.
But getting consistent Premier League minutes has been a real battle. Outside of starting in that tough loss to Brentford, he’s mostly been stuck on the bench or thrown on late in games.
The talent is obvious, but he’s clearly still trying to win over the manager for a regular spot, which is difficult with Moises Caicedo returning too.
Who is the most underrated Chelsea player of the Premier League era, and why? 👀
Valentin Barco shows what he’s made of for Argentina
Valentin Barco put in a super composed, tidy shift against Bolivia, giving a glimpse of what he offers as Argentina steps into life after Messi.
He came on early in the second half and immediately slotted in, taking 30 touches and misplaced just a single pass, finishing with a 96% completion rate. He created a chance, made a recovery, and won his duel without giving away a single foul.
It wasn’t flashy, but it was smooth, efficient, and showed real maturity for a young player looking to make that left-hand side his own.
The Argentine media were delighted with the display of Barco, who made an immediate impact after being substituted, as TYC Sports gave their assessment.
Valentin Barco (7) – For my taste, good income. Mobility, passing, construction of plays. It is easier when everything is on track, but Colo is an important contribution to the sum of variants that the national team has.
Next up for Barco and Argentina is matches against Burkino Faso and Benin before returning to Chelsea.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
