Several European clubs were behind this promising Brazilian. Betis, Ajax, PSV, Celtic, Bruges, Bologna and Fenerbahçe had been interested in recent days. The Turkish club with special intention, as their coach, Jorge Jesus, coached Vinícius Souza at Flamengo. City Football Group, however, turned down all their formal offers because they do not want to transfer this young talent yet. “City’s plan is to revalue it in leagues of an increasingly high level so that the demand makes it gain experience and visibility,” Brazilian and Goal Global Tour journalist Raisa Simplicio told ARA.
Vinícius Souza played in the 2020-21 season in the Belgian Second Division, at Lommel, and last year he did so in the First, the Jupiter Pro League, at Mechelen. He will now make the leap to the Spanish League. “He has a great future ahead of him, I think he is a player who can reach the Brazil national team in a few years”, adds Simplicio, who remembers the constant praise that Jorge Jesús dedicated to him despite not being able to give him much opportunities at Flamengo, where he matched a group of experienced players who won the Libertadores and the league. This journalist, who has been following him since his inception, recalls that in 2017 Tite, the current coach of Brazil, called him to do some training with the canarinha, where he coincided with stars like Neymar. The CFG caught him after seeing him in tournaments in the lower categories of Brazil such as Toulon, where he coincided with former Barça players Emerson Royal and Gabriel Novaes.
The Brazilian, whom they know as Viniçao in its country of origin by its spread, it emphasizes by his physical profile (1.87 meters) and its great defensive work. This is a profile that Espanyol did not have, which in the middle of the field only had Keidi Bare as an expert in defensive work. “He is a player of great hierarchy and quality, and a calm person”, defines Simplicio. Vinicius was the player who recovered the most balls last season in the Jupiter Pro League with Malinas, the club where he played on loan. According to data from the Belgian league, no player made more successful entries than him: four per game. He almost doubled Espanyol’s best player in this respect last season (Óscar Gil, with 2.4 wins per game). He was, of course, the fourth player with the most fouls in the last Belgian league. He also stands out for his interceptions (he signed 2.16, twice the 1.3 signed by Sergi Gómez) and for his ability to win aerial duels. Viniçao, a young man with great physical deployment for Espanyol who mirrors Casemiro and considers Zidane his great football idol.
