The second coming of Javier Mascherano? Why Porto general Alan Varela is high on Liverpool and other top clubs' transfer wishlists

Varela was born just a 40-minute journey away from Boca Juniors' iconic home stadium, La Bombonera, and was raised in Argentina's capital city Buenos Aires. He became obsessed with football at a young age and began his journey towards the professional ranks by linking up with Barcelona Juniors Lujan, the youth academy created by La Liga giants Barcelona to nurture Argentine talent back in 2007.

Boca soon took notice, drafting an 11-year-old Varela into their academy ranks in 2012 - after a hilarious initiation ceremony that saw him and six other new players forced into getting very unique haircuts - and seven years later he began training with the first team. Varela also signed his first professional contract in 2019, and made his debut for Argentina's Under-20s, but had to bide his time before becoming a fully-fledged starter for Boca.

Varela finally made his senior bow in a Copa de la Liga Profesional play-off stage clash with Independiente in December 2020, and put in an impressive display to help Boca to a 2-1 victory. His minutes dwindled as the tournament went on, but got his first taste of silverware after Boca beat Banfield on penalties in the final, and they followed up that success by clinching the Copa Argentina.

In the 2021 campaign, Varela made 27 appearances across all competitions, and although Boca ended up finishing a disappointing fourth in the league table, he was developing at a rapid rate.

Boca bounced back with a vengeance in 2022 to win their 35th Argentina Primera crown, alongside another Copa de la Liga Profesional triumph, and Varela was one of the most important members of the squad. He provided the rock solid base for Boca's success across his 47 appearances, three of which came during their run to the Copa Libertadores last 16, and also weighed in with one goal and two assists.

Varela's solitary goal also happened to be the 8,000th in Boca's history, and gave them a vital 1-0 win over Deportivo Cali in their final Copa Libertadores group game. It was a fitting strike for the weight of the moment, too, as he rifled a fierce shot into the net from 25 yards out - albeit with the help of some poor goalkeeping.

The season would end on a sour note for Varela, however, as he was one of 10 players to receive a red card as Boca suffered a 2-1 defeat to Racing Club in a bad-tempered Trofeo de Campeones final - with the referee forced to cut the contest short in extra-time due to a lack of remaining players. Still, Varela had more than made his mark, and was rewarded with a shirt upgrade from No.33 to No.5 after the departure of Carlos Zambrano.

By this stage, Varela was attracting attention from top clubs across Europe, and Porto eventually edged out the competition in August 2023, snapping him up for the bargain price of €11 million. “I’m really happy to arrive at a club as big as Porto and I can’t wait to get to know my new team-mates, the club facilities. I’m so happy,” Varela said at his unveiling. “It’s a beautiful stadium. I can’t wait to play here and I’m going to get straight down to hard work to try and earn the trust of the coach."

Varela would soon learn that winning Sergio Conceicao's trust is no easy feat as he swapped the comfort of life in his homeland for a whole new challenge and environment in Portugal.

Varela made his debut for Porto off the bench in a draw against Arouca before starting in a 1-0 victory over Estrela, and Conceicao stuck with him for their Champions League group-stage opener against Shakhtar Donetsk. The Dragons stormed to a 3-1 win over the Ukrainian champions, and Varela played the full 90 minutes, only to face criticism from his manager in the days that followed.

Speaking on the integration of Varela and fellow new addition Ivan Jaime, Conceicao said: "They have to understand some of the ideas I have. I would say they have a lot to improve." The Porto manager's words had the desired effect, though, as Varela nailed down a spot in his starting XI with a string of stellar performances to help the team fight at the top of the Primeira Liga and qualify for the Champions League knockout stages as runners up in Group H behind Barcelona.

Varela eventually opened his goal account for Porto in January, showing great composure to capitalise on a defensive error and round two players before tapping into the net, finishing off a 5-0 rout of Moreirense. He produced a brilliant first-time finish from the edge of the box the following week as Porto saw off Farense, leaving Conceicao delighted with his progress.

"He has a good arrival, a good shot, he defines well - both in the short and long pass. He is also a player with quality and, in that sense, there has been an interesting evolution, especially now that I am asking a little different things of him," the Portuguese coach told a press conference.

Porto then turned their attention to the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie against Arsenal at the Estadio Dragao, which saw Varela properly introduce himself to fans across Europe. Porto secured a massive 1-0 victory thanks to a late strike from Galeno, but it was Varela that walked away with the Man of the Match award.

Varela recorded more ball recoveries (five), interceptions (three) and passes in the opposition half (11) than any other player, running himself into the ground while also showing great technical quality on the ball. Porto would go on to exit the competition on penalties after a tense second leg in north London, but they did so with their heads held high, and Varela's stock has only continued to grow.

Porto slumped to a disappointing third-place finish in the league, but can still salvage silverware in the form of the Taca de Portugal, if they beat new champions Sporting in the final. The question is: will that be Varela's send-off game now that Liverpool and others are hot on his tail?

Varela is currently following in the footsteps of some of the biggest South American stars of this generation, including Angel Di Maria, James Rodriguez, Enzo Fernandez and Luiz Diaz, all of whom played in the Portuguese top-flight before moving on to one of Europe's elite clubs. The Porto star doesn't possess quite the same level of flair as those men, but he is already a master at shielding the defence and driving his team forward with his physicality.

The combative defensive midfielder has a great engine and reads the game brilliantly, while he also possesses an aggressive streak and will to win that makes him a perfect leader. Varela isn't just a brute, though; he also has a superb passing range and keeps a cool head under pressure in tight areas.

For all of these reasons he has been dubbed 'the next Javier Mascherano' in his homeland, which will be music to the ears of Liverpool fans. Mascherano played for the Reds between 2007 and 2010, establishing himself among Europe's top midfielders before going on to form part of a star-studded Barcelona team alongside Lionel Messi, and Varela has the potential to reach similar heights if he stays on his current trajectory.

It must be noted, however, that Varela has yet to earn his first senior cap for the Argentina national team. In fact, the 22-year-old hasn't represented his country at all since 2019, and Lionel Scaloni overlooked him once again when naming his last squad for a pair of March friendlies against El Salvador and Costa Rica.

To get Scaloni's attention, Varela will have to improve his game in a couple of key areas. Timing his tackles more effectively will be job one, as he's picked up eight yellow cards in the Primeira Liga this season; it's one thing to embrace the dark arts in order to give your team an advantage, but Varela can often edge more into reckless territory.

Varela is not a progressive ball carrier either, and doesn't make runs from deep to catch opposition defence off guard, which seems to be the next area of natural progression he must be aiming for. To get into the Argentina team he'll have to become more of an all-rounder, but time is very much on his side, and a big summer move will only increase his chances.

Klopp did a fine job of overhauling Liverpool's midfield last summer, bringing in Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo while offloading Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Naby Keita. The Reds still finished a distant third in the Premier League title race, though, and only had the Carabao Cup to show for their efforts by the end of Klopp's final campaign, which suggests there is room for a player of Varela's unique talents.

The Porto talisman could slot into the No.6 role for the Reds seamlessly next term, especially given the fact he looks tailor-made for the intensity of Premier League football.

"He is an excellent player. It was an excellent signing for Porto, perhaps the team’s most regular reinforcement in terms of time and quality of play," former Wolves and Porto playmaker Ruben Neves recently told O Jogo when quizzed on Varela's impact at the Dragao. "He is extremely aggressive, is always very well positioned in defensive balances and, lately, he has been getting a little further forward. He is very complete and has been one of the most important elements of the team."

Neves was widely regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League during his time at Molineux, and so his endorsement holds a lot of weight. He was also heavily linked with Liverpool himself last year, but ended up moving to Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal instead, and now the Reds essentially have the chance to sign a younger version of the Portuguese ace.

Varela has also been linked with Manchester City, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, which means Liverpool will have to move quickly to win the race for his services. From what we've seen so far, he could be well worth the time and expense.