Fernando Llorente comparison grows as Esnaola heads to Lezama
fernando llorente is the reference point again as Athletic Club prepares to add Álex Esnaola to its Juvenil División de Honor squad next season. The 16-year-old striker from Anaitasuna arrives after a 25-goal season in Liga Vasca Juvenil, and his height has already made the move stand out inside Lezama.
Esnaola’s 25-goal season
Esnaola scored 25 goals and finished as the second top scorer in his category. He did that for an Anaitasuna side that finished eighth in an 18-team league, which puts his return in sharper focus than a simple tally would.
Born in 2009, he is around 1.95 meters tall. That frame is the reason the comparison with Llorente comes so quickly, but the numbers behind it matter just as much: Athletic is bringing in a forward who produced in a league where his team was not near the top of the table.
Lezama and Athletic Club
The move sends him to Lezama next season and into Athletic Club’s Juvenil División de Honor team. That is the next step for a striker described as able to run powerfully, stride forward and attack spaces, with a game built around contact with the ball as much as simple finishing.
He has said he likes to participate in the game and get into contact with the ball. That detail fits the profile Athletic is buying into: a tall youth forward with scoring output, movement, and a physical shape that recalls one of the club’s most recognizable attackers.
Llorente’s shadow
Llorente became a major attacking reference for Athletic because of his physicality, aerial play and presence in the box. Esnaola does not need to become that player to matter, but the comparison explains why this addition is drawing notice before he has even played for the Juvenil team.
For Athletic, the practical change is simple. Lezama gets a 16-year-old forward with 25 goals behind him, a 1.95-meter frame, and a profile unusual enough that the Llorente comparison is hard to avoid. For Esnaola, the next test is whether that production follows him into Athletic’s academy level.
