The best young talents to watch in the Brazilian Serie A
Matheus Franca (19, CR Flamengo)
Although the star players Gabriel Barbosa and Pedro will be the core of Flamengo's offense in the upcoming season, young striker or offensive midfielder Matheus Franca could also be among the mainstays from the start. He still has only 670 minutes of play in Serie A, but even in that little time he has already managed to show what he will be good for.
In particular, he has impressed with his excellent movement in the opposition's penalty area. No other player here has averaged more touches per game and only his teammate Pedro has created more quality shooting opportunities in terms of data metrics.
Out of 18 shots on target, Franca has sent 5 of them from the small box and 11 in total from the central area inside the opponent's box, where the chances of scoring are highest. He was very inconsistent in his finishing, but that is not unusual for young offensive footballers. Moreover, he showed that he can shoot with both feet and heading is not a problem either.
He is one of the most active dribblers in Brazil and his runs behind the defence greatly increase his team's chances of scoring. In a metric that measures the danger of dribbling, he is among the top 5% of players at his position.
Victor Hugo (18, CR Flamengo)
This offensive-minded central midfielder asked for attention in his debut season in Serie A. Only 18 years old, the player played almost 1200 minutes and was a constant threat to the opposing team.
In advanced data models, which track the overall contribution of a player's dribbling and passing in the final third of the pitch, he ranked among the top 20% of midfielders and demonstrated, above all, what a great final pass he possesses.
He averaged a 20% chance of an assist in each game (adjusted for penalties), which was the best league result for his position. And there is only one other Serie A player in the midfield through whom a greater volume of his team's offensive actions went - and that is veteran Arturo Vidal, coincidentally Hugo's teammate and mentor.
In addition to helping others create goals, he has put himself in very good shooting positions. In the metric of expected goals per game, he was second best among central midfielders.
Angelo Gabriel (18, Santos)
Although still only 18 years old, Angelo has already played three seasons in Serie A. In the last one, with 1700 minutes played, he was one of Santos' most important players, despite the fact that as a winger he only very sporadically gets to finish from quality positions.
During his career in Serie A so far, he has recorded 34 shots (average 1.2 per game), of which he has converted only one. This is mainly because the vast majority of his attempts have been directed at goal from complicated angles or from outside the box. In total, he only accumulated 2.4 xG. However, his specialties are creativity and ball management.
In a metric that tracks the extent to which a player's touches with the ball increase a team's chances of scoring, he ranks among the league's top handful of players. He is constantly trying to move the ball forward and plays a huge number of creative and penetrating passes of various types per game. He averages a 22% chance of scoring in every game, which puts him just behind Flamengo's Everton.
He can get into good positions for the final pass thanks to his excellent dribbling, which he uses really often in his game. Among the wingers, only the aforementioned Everton has made more tackles.
Vitor Roque (18, Club Athletico Paranaense)
Another great hope for Brazilian football is 18-year-old central striker Vitor Roque, who played 1,500 league minutes for Athletico Paranaense last season and was also an important figure in his team's journey to the Copa Libertadores final. All in all, he notched 14 goals and 5 assists in 2,542 minutes in all competitions. His performances even secured him a debut in the senior national team.
Roque is a striker with good movement and place selection in the penalty area. Out of 37 shots (2.3 per game), 24 were sent on target from the central area of the box and in the metric of expected goals, only six other players were better among the strikers with at least 1000 minutes of play.
He is also one of the most fouled Serie A footballers. He is stopped by foul play an average of 2.7 times per game, more often than 92% of other players. Opponents have a problem catching especially his sideways crosses and changes of direction, which only Hulk from Mineiro has seen more of during a match.
