Yesterday saw the arrival at Everton of Argentine forward Denis Stracqualursi. The deadline day move came totally out of the blue and Evertonians (myself included) flocked to Wikipedia to assure themselves that it wasn't an elaborate wind-up. Could it be, an actual signing?
Wikipedia didn't prove to be much help - someone was clearly having fun with Denis' page, which read: "In August 2011 Stracqualursi became a mongrel by signing for the stupidly rich Premier League team Everton, owned by Sheik Kenwright."
So what do we know about or new Argie?
Denis Stracqualursi was born on the 20th October 1987 in Rafaela, a city in the province of Sante Fe, Argentina and began his footballing career in the third tier of the Argentinian football pyramid at his hometown club Unión de Sunchales. Stracqualursi took the division by storm and ended the season with a goal ratio of just over a goal a game. His talents didn't go unnoticed and he was quickly snapped up by a second-tier club, Gimnasia La Plata.
The forward struggled to adapt to life in the second division and he managed to find the net just 6 times in over 40 appearances. He did endear himself to the Gimnasia fans, though, with a brace in Gimnasia's 3-1 Clásico Platense (La Plata derby) victory over fierce rivals Estudiantes.
Despite his largely forgettable spell with Gimnasia, top-flight side Tigre had seen enough to take a chance on Stracqualursi and, in 2010, signed him on loan with the option to buy. By Argentinian standards, Stracqualursi was very much a late bloomer and Tigre's decision to gamble on him was one that paid dividends.
Stracqualursi struck 11 times in 19 times in the Apertura (the first half of the Argentine league campaign), a feat which left him joint top of the league's goalscoring charts along with Santiago Silva of Vélez Sársfield. His achievements also made him the first ever Tigre player to become the top scorer in the Argentine Primera División.
He continued his fine form into the Clausura (the second half of the season). He scored 9 times in the first 10 games - more than the entire Gimnasia team combined. He finished the Clausura campaign on 10 goals, a tally that included a hat-trick against Boca Juniors at La Bombonera.
23-year-old Stracqualursi was watched in April of this year by Everton scouts and also attracted interest from a number of European clubs. Napoli submitted an 8m Euro (£7.2m) bid and there was also significant interest from Fiorentina and Catania.
Standing at 6ft 3, Stracqualursi is noted for his aerial ability and physical presence, but does not possess the delicate touch and graceful finesse that you may expect from an Argentine.
The excellent argentinafootballworld.com describes our new striker as "tall, robust and proficient with his feet. In a league where attacking football is usually dominated by fluttering will-o-the-wisps, it is refreshing to see a striker earn his keep by relying on brute physicality, with just a touch of intricacy as an afterthought."
The Argentinian Big Dunc? Welcome to Everton, Denis Stracqualursi.
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