Copa America: 5 players who could become superstars after the tournament

#2 Duvan Zapata

Colombia v Panama - Friendly Match

Before Duvan Zapata’s phenomenal goalscoring exploits propelled him amongst Europe’s highest goalscorers, one could be forgiven for being oblivious of the Colombian’s predatorial instincts. However, his rapid ascent is an underdog story that would turn even the biggest of skeptics into believers.

At 28 years of age and plying his trade at Italian club Atalanta on loan from Sampdoria, Zapata would be the last man to be tipped to outperform an unstoppable Cristiano Ronaldo in the goalscoring charts. However, as the former Napoli forward has constantly proven this campaign, he is far from a flash in the pan. Finishing 2 goals ahead of the Portuguese skipper with 23 under his belt and being the lynchpin behind his club’s 3rd-placed finish, Zapata’s heroics merit applause. Rewind to the previous campaign which makes for mediocre reading as he ended with less than 50% of his tally at just 11 goals and Atalanta secured a mid-table finish at 7th.

Not only is the burly forward a threat in front of goal, but with 7 assists in the league, Zapata has used his physicality, tireless pressing and strong weak foot to grow into a talented creator. A prime example of these attributes was against Roma when he nicked the ball off Kostas Manolas, beat him for pace and threaded through an immaculate pass for Rafael Toloi to dispatch.

Taking into account his comprehensiveness as a striker, Zapata could take a leaf out of James Rodriguez’s book from the 2014 World Cup. Just as the then-Monaco attacking midfielder bagged the Golden Boot and became Europe’s most in-demand attacking midfielder, the Atalanta frontman could steal the headlines at the Copa America and became a name on all of the top clubs’ transfer lists come this summer.