Eduardo Vargas, by his full name Eduardo Jesús Vargas Rojas, has completed his move to Bundesliga side TSG 1899 Hoffenheim today from SSC Napoli. At the Kraichgauer, he signed a contract for four years through to summer 2019.
A difficult time in Italy
Vargas came to Europe from Chile in 2012 at the age of 22 when he joined Napoli from CF Universidad de Chile for a transfer fee of around €13.5m. But he barely played a match for the Italians because he was loaned out to Grêmio in Brazil, Valencia and Queens Park Rangers. His best year was probably the one that has just passed, making 21 Premier League appearances and scoring three goals.
A stunning tournament
But the reason why quite a lot of clubs were interested in the 1.76m-tall striker were his stunning performances at the Copa América, where he played every match and contributed four goals to the win the cup for Chile. Furthermore, he was part of he Team of the Tournament, alongside with world stars like Alexis Sanchez, Arturo Vidal and Lionel Messi. His overall performances for the Chilean national team are very good; in 48 matches he has scored 22 goals.
"I'm looking forward to it"
The Chilean said that, "I'm really looking forward to playing for the team because of the fans, the stadiums and the general atmosphere in German football." He added, "Furthermore, I would like to show my aggressive and offensive style of playing in one of the world's top leagues."
In need of a striker
Hoffenheim really needed to sign a striker given the fact that both of their strikers from last season left the club. Anthony Modeste, who played in 26 league games, contributing seven goals, moved to league rivals 1. FC Köln while Sven Schipplock, Modeste's replacement, decided to leave the club for Hamburger SV.