Pictures of Nathan next to Chelsea’s logo have been all over the internet for the past days as the Brazilian confirmed his permanent move to Stamford Bridge. According to the Daily Mail, the 19 year old cost the Blues around £4.5million and was also targeted by Man City and Manchester United who were snubbed by the youngster who was a big Chelsea fan even before the club’s interest in him.
Other than the price there is not much info on the 5’8’’ Brazilian who only started playing for Paranense last summer. In a very short time he has somehow managed to impress Mourinho to such extent as to make this agile attacking midfielder a priority on his transfer list. There must be more to the deal than meets the eye considering everyone knows how different Brazilian players perform when leaving their home country. Most look spectacular while playing for the Brazilian Serie A teams but have problems adapting to European football. It took players like Neymar or Moura scoring a lot of goals and playing a lot of great matches to really encourage big clubs like PSG or Barcelona to make a move. To be fair, Nathan only cost £4.5million which is not that much in today’s inflated transfer market.
Player profile and Predictions
Full name: Nathan Allan de Souza
Born: 13 March 1996 in Blumenau, Brazil
Position: Attacking midfield, Secondary: (Left and Right wing)
Clubs: Atletico Paranaense (2014-15) – 13 appearances, 0 goals
Brazil U17 – Debut at 17 years and 7 months – 6 appearances, 5 goals.
Footed: Right
Nathan has made a wise choice to come to Chelsea. Fitting in with the group should not be a problem considering there are already 6 Brazilian players under contract with the Blues. Fitting in the squad formation looks like 50-50. He might just be brilliant when played behind Costa but he could also be an unnecessary extra player who will step on the toes of Fabregas or Oscar. Fitting in physically will probably be the biggest challenge. Even though he is a bit taller than Hazard, he does not look as strong on his feet which might cost him in a competition such as the Premier League. Even so, Nathan is expected to spend his first season with Mourinho’s squad and not be sent on loan like many of Chelsea’s youngsters. To get a better idea of what to expect from the 19 year old check out the video below.