Chelsea target Neyser Villarreal sparked a brawl during his side’s recent clash in Colombia. The Millonarios FC winger impressed against fierce rivals Santa Fe, and his confidence and swagger will certainly have caught the eye of scouts in attendance. Villarreal has been heavily linked with a move to Europe this summer, with Chelsea among the clubs to have him in their sights as they continue to inject youth quality into their ranks, despite the arrivals of Kendry Paez and Willian Estevao.
Scouts are expected to travel to watch Villarreal in Colombia before the end of the season, and those who watched Millionarios’ 2-0 victory over Santa Fe may have seen a different side to the winger, which data and statistics won’t show.
With his side leading 2-0 against the 10 men of Santa Fe, the 19-year-old sparked chaos in the 76th minute with an arrogant skill move to infuriate his opponents. Villarreal received the ball out on the right wing before slowing down and then standing on the ball in front of the Santa Fe defender.
The forward spent a brief moment balancing on the ball before then passing to a team-mate. However, the moment was far from forgotten, with referee Jose Ortiz quickly bringing play to a halt and booking Villarreal.
Several Santa Fe players rushed to confront their opponent on his antics, shoving the winger before Villarreal’s team-mates ushered him away from the scene and attempted to diffuse the situation before further bookings were dished out in an already-feisty affair.
As Villarreal jogged away from the situation, he was followed by ex-Wigan star Hugo Rodallega, who was furious that his team-mate was somewhat taunted by the ball-standing skill move. Play eventually continued after the brawl fizzled out, though Santa Fe stars had not forgotten about the incident and Villarreal was shoved by a few players whilst the game continued.
Millonarios manager David Gonzalez then substituted the exciting prospect just a few minutes later, with his side going on to secure a 2-0 victory and move up to fifth in the Categoria Primera A table.
With interest hotting up in Villarreal already and the forward positioning for a move, amid reports that he has skipped training previously in the hope of forcing through an exit.