For those who watched Luciano Vietto as a teenager in Argentina few would have doubted his vast potential but most would still have found it difficult to predict the immediate impact he has made at Villarreal. The 21-year-old striker was this week named the BBVA Player of the Month for December after a series of match winning performances helped El Submarino Amarillo to sixth in the league.

Vietto is perhaps the surprise package in La Liga this season despite Villarreal paying a significant amount of money for the youngster. Many would assume that at his tender age it might take sometime to adapt to the rigours of Spanish football and so Villarreal would use him sparingly to ease the transition. However, Vietto has seized on the opportunity and is showing the kind of promise that he showed as a raw 17-year-old when making his Racing debut under Diego Simeone.

Vietto finds himself in esteemed company after notching eight La Liga goals and trailing only Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Carlos Bacca. It was the “three vital goals” as the BBVA judging panel put it against Atlético Madrid and Deportivo La Coruña that earned Vietto the prize.

The winning goal against Atlético was particularly impressive as the Academia product turned the usually solid, Diego Godin inside-out before finishing confidently.

It comes as little surprise that a number of Europe’s leading clubs are now monitoring Vietto but it would take considerably more than the $7 million that Villarreal paid.

What is encouraging for Argentina is the number of young players excelling this season in Europe. In addition to Vietto in Spain, the Serie A scoring charts are dominated by Argentines and in Mauro Icardi and Paulo Dybala there are three 21-year-old goal scorers in two of Europe’s leading leagues.