Making a dream move from Argentina to England happen

When Carlos Alcaraz’s agency, Insua & Rol Sports Group, joined TransferRoom, world football’s digital marketplace, as a Trusted Agency ahead of the 2023 Winter Transfer Window, they had two main targets.

To open up their global network by making connections outside of their home locations of Argentina and Spain, through direct access to decision makers at over 700 clubs using the platform. And to secure big moves for their talents, with midfielder Alcaraz from Argentinian side Racing Club top of the list.

Not only did Insua & Rol secure a dream move for Alcaraz to Southampton FC, then in the Premier League, after connecting directly through TransferRoom. The €14million transfer was also done within one week of their initial connection, allowing them to get the deal completed fast in the January window.

Now, the creative midfielder explains how TransferRoom, which over 400 agencies use to accelerate their global transfer business and connect with clubs in more than 100 leagues globally, paved the way for his dream transfer from Racing to Southampton in January 2023.

“In November 2022, after we won the Argentinian Cup final with Racing, I was on holiday and my representative Sebastián López told me a bit about the interest,” the 21-year-old midfielder says in the video below. “I clearly had a big interest to come because I saw it was a very good and well-established club.

“Sebastián is well seen on a huge platform like TransferRoom, so it’s really good because all clubs from Europe and the world can see both me and him, so having my agent verified there and allowing him to be contacted through the platform is positive and helps me too."

Full video: How Alcaraz landed his €14m transfer

Alcaraz’s agent connecting directly with Southampton on TransferRoom allowed the player to fulfil his childhood dream of moving to one of Europe’s major leagues.

“When I was 15, I had the opportunity to get into Racing Club,” Alcaraz said. “That was my first major accomplishment as my biggest dream was to play in the first division and make my debut for a recognised club like Racing.

“After that, like the dreams of any young player, being able to jump to the big leagues in Europe.

“Truthfully the change was in a short space of time but I was really eager to make the jump and I think it has been a great phase of my life, what I lived in Racing and what I’m living here.

“I’m very happy to be here thanks to my agent, TransferRoom and Southampton’s interest. TransferRoom helped a lot to get the deal done so I’m very grateful.”

Alcaraz's story serves as a compelling case of how things can move swiftly in the global transfer market, especially when orchestrating a deal through TransferRoom's digital transfer platform.

López, Alcaraz’s agent and a Partner for Insua & Rol Sports Group, said: “As the main player in our portfolio we were keen to move Carlos on. At the start of the transfer window Southampton got in contact with us and sent me a message on the platform and obtained my contact details. Within a week from the first point of contact we were able to conclude a deal.”

Instant access to the right people

The €14m transfer is also one of the biggest facilitated by TransferRoom. Here you can see where Alcaraz ranks in the top five.

Alcaraz quickly adapted to life in England, with two goals in his first two home starts, and was a bright spark in his first campaign despite Southampton's Premier League relegation.

One year on, the attacking midfielder has established himself as a key figure in their push for an instant return to the top flight as they target automatic promotion from the Championship.

“Making the jump to the Premier League and playing against the best teams and the best players is amazing," Alcaraz added. "One day you're playing those teams on a PlayStation and the next day I had to get up and play against them.

“We had the bad luck of being relegated and now we’re in the Championship, but with the same desire as when I arrived to go back into the Premier League."

In October 2023, Alcaraz was called up to the Argentina squad for the first time, reward for an impressive start to life in England for the midfielder.

 
Sam Stanton, the Head of Scouting Operations at Sport Republic, the ownership group in charge of Southampton FC, said: “To have an Argentinian international in your team is really big. To get him over the line, especially in the position Southampton were in, is massive.

“We use TransferRoom because it’s instant access to people we need to speak to. We want to get deals done on certain players, especially players in like South America where getting hold of agents can be a little more difficult because of the language.

“So using TransferRoom as the middleman to be the bridge to the club, the player and the agent was really big for us.”

Agents, land big transfers for your players by gaining direct access to the decision makers at over 700 clubs worldwide on TransferRoom. Find out more here.

Clubs, here's how you can recruit the next big talents in South America and across the globe through our platform. Read more.