Rooney Troya is a 17-year-old midfielder who plays for Universidad Católica. The Ecuadorian youngster mainly played for the U-19’s this season, but he also featured for the U-17’s and made his debut for the first team of Universidad Católica. The midfielder was also a rotational player for Ecuador U-17 during the U-17 Sudamericano and U-17 World Cup. Universidad Católica U-19 got knocked out in the semi-finals for the league title. I am mainly basing my opinion about Rooney Troya in 2023 on his performances for Ecuador U-17.
The central midfielder stands at around 1.70m with an average build. He has a low centre of gravity, allowing him to turn quickly and change directions quickly. Troya has a good burst of speed and also generates decent speed over long distances. He does not have a very strong physical appearance, but battles really well in defensive duels which compensates slightly for his lack of physique. He also battles very well in aerial duels but still loses most of them despite having good timing. He has good stamina.
Rooney Troya mainly operates as one of the two holding midfielders in a 4-2-3-1. He mostly plays between the lines in first-phase possession with the other holding midfielder operating as a third central defender. Troya has decent movement in first-phase possession. He has a good first touch under pressure and has a very clean short passing technique. Troya does not make many mistakes with his short passing but can sporadically be a bit sloppy on the ball. The Ecuadorian midfielder has a decent long passing technique but the execution of his long passes is quite inconsistent. He can also turn away sharply from his opponent in first-phase possession. Rooney Troya, playing higher up the pitch, can pose a threat for the opponent with his well-timed runs in behind.
I think Troya will end up as a box-to-box midfielder, putting his good stamina, well-timed runs in behind and aggressive defending to a good use. The midfielder is often in the right place at the right time defensively, intercepting passes in the defensive third and displaying good defensive discipline to stay in position. Troya is a very aggressive presser and uses his body efficiently, managing to intercept the ball despite not having the strongest physical appearance.
My expectation for 2024 is that Rooney Troya will be a squad player for the first team of Universidad Católica, although I do not think that he has the level to be a starter or rotational player yet. Isaac Sánchez has a much higher ceiling. Troya has an average physical profile and does not really compensate this with technical excellence or tactical intelligence. I think he has the potential to play in the Brazilian Serie A.