[Video] Who is Sebastian Coates?

With the BBC, Sky Sports and the Independent all reporting he is on the verge of moving to Liverpool for between £8-12million, Sebastian Coates has also now confirmed he is in talks with the Reds. He told Ovacion:
“I’d prefer Liverpool to Manchester City, but would need to see what they have to offer and would compare them. But having the help of Luis Suarez would be very important. I will be going to England, we are just missing a few details now. The Liverpool offer ticks all boxes, so fair to say it’s a done deal. Luis’s success is important for me as another Uruguayan joining. Liverpool is a club with great tradition and history, and Luis would be a great help to me. Suarez has spoken to Kenny Dalglish and his managers about my signing. He said it will be great having a Uruguayan with him, we chatted for quite a while, as he is someone I know well.”

With the deal looking all but sewn up, I think it would be good to see what sort of player we will be getting:

Playing Style
At 6ft 5, Coates’ most noticeable attribute is of course his aerial ability. Despite this though, his biggest strengths are said to be his very good technical ability and positional play. He loves to walk the ball out of the defence and deliver an accurate pass to a team mate. To aid his short passing game to midfielders, he is tremendously composed on the ball and is calm under pressure. He is deceptively quick for someone with such a large frame, and also knows how to time tackles whether on his feet to dispossess an opponent or in a slide tackle to win possession. In addition, he is said to have great instincts to spot danger early and his anticipation allows him to be in the right place at the right time. He also can score his fair share of goals from set pieces with his height.

Player History
He was signed up by Montevideo club Club Nacional in 2001 at the age of eleven and made his way through the club’s youth ranks. He made his debut for Uruguay’s U17s and U20s even before he had made is professional debut for Nacional, but he became a regular in his club’s senior side after he made his debut against Belle Vista in April 2009.

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