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According to reports in Ecuador, Leeds United are looking at signing U20 World Cup star Alexander Alvarado.

The winger looked excellent at the tournament, scoring once and assisting once as he played almost every minute for the third-placed South Americans, but United must be careful to not fall into the trap of signing a player who hit form at an international tournament as he may not be as good as his performances suggest.

Falling for the trap

Players who perform well at the U20 World Cup can flatter to deceive at times. Yefferson Soteldo was in a similar position to Alvarado a couple of years ago as his displays at the U20 World Cup had fans of some of the world’s biggest clubs clamouring to sign him.

The youngster was brilliant as Venezuela reached the final of the competition back in 2017, but since then he hasn’t gone on to do very much.

Alvarado could be a similar story as one assist in 10 games in the Ecuadorian league doesn’t make for great reading.

Can’t take risks

Heading into 2019/20, Leeds really can’t afford to be taking risks like this as they target promotion.

They have previously been linked with the likes of Ryan Kent and Jack Harrison, and while these two aren’t the most inspiring of signings they are certainly safer options than the U20 World Cup star on the flanks next term.

Both players at least have an element of Championship experience, whereas Alvarado would join having only ever played in his home country, and never in European football.

Indeed, the Ecuadorian’s skillset looked fantastic in the tournament this summer, but it may not be reflective of what he would produce if he did end up arriving at Elland Road in what is a notoriously difficult division of English football.