Transfer dribble #5: Who are the new Premier League players coming from Brazil?
Looking at Igor Jesus, Jhon Arias, Lucas Perri and others
The pre-season format of this will be as free-flowing as peak Kevin De Bruyne, covering Premier League transfers, all sorts of FPL stuff, or weird things people say about football data.
Once we enter the regular season, it will be more about actionable fantasy advice, which will help you better understand the data and make sounder managerial decisions. So, bear with me.
Today, I will discuss a group of Premier League newcomers with a close link to Brazil — either they are Brazilian or have recently played there.
Many of them are promising players taking on challenging roles to fulfil.
Igor Jesus (Nottingham Forest)
Jesus is 24 years old number nine, who was one of the breakout stars of the recent Club World Cup, where he scored two goals for his former club Botafogo, including a winning one against PSG.
I just wanted to set the scene for you—we won’t judge players’ ability based on a few games during the summer tournament, ever.
Instead, let’s examine his performances in the Brazilian Serie A over the past two seasons more closely.
Foremost, he dominated the league in movement in the box, considering both the volume and quality of his actions. He ranked in the 95th percentile for:
Volume of shots (3.10 per 90)
Expected goals (0.40 per 90)
Number of touches in the box
Volume of passes received in the box
Expected threat from received passes
Although he’s reportedly 1.79m tall, he is pretty good in the air thanks to his leap and timing. Apparently, he used to play as a goalkeeper at the youth level...
Out of 85 shots, 34 were headers. That’s 40%.
During his time at Al-Ahli Dubai, the share of his headed attempts was similar.
Do you know who has an almost identical record over his spell at Nottingham Forest?
Yeah, you’ve guessed it right.
Chris Wood turns 34 in December, so bringing in a replacement was an obvious move this transfer window.
He is likely to start the season as Forest’s first-choice striker, so let’s not get too carried away. Nonetheless, Jesus (£6.0m in FPL) will serve as a good backup option, aiming to impress and eventually become a viable choice. There’s potential. So, sit back and see how this develops.
Jesus was involved in this interesting transfer package, which included not only him but also another Botafogo player, Jair Cunha.
He’s nothing like the new Manchester United number ten.
We’re talking about a 20-year-old centre-back who is 1.98 metres tall and is pretty much one for the future.
Jhon Arias (Wolves)
Talk about boots to fill.
Matheus Cunha left Wolves for Manchester United after scoring 27 goals and assisting 13 over the past two seasons, while doing everything imaginable on the pitch. If you’re an avid FPL player, you know he scored a ton in the bonus point system last campaign.
Jhon Arias (£5.5m) is a fine player. There’s no arguing with that.
However, I don’t think he will bang in goals. Cunha has it in him. Arias is a rather creative force. I’m not sure what the Wolves’ recruitment plans are for the rest of the summer, but this is one of the issues with the current squad.
Over a sample of 10,000 minutes at Fluminense, he averaged only 1.35 shots and 0.11 xG per 90, spending most of his minutes on both wings (more often on the right).
He was very influential when it came to passing—he has a good eye for a final pass, can cross reasonably well, or play some through-balls from half-spaces.
On top of that, the Colombian is strong in duels and a good dribbler, so he should adapt to the Premier League football well.
It might turn out all right, but again, I’m not expecting too much output.
Lucas Perri (Leeds)
Someone who should contribute right away and become a key player for his new club.
Perri is a 27-year-old Brazilian goalkeeper who has spent most of his career in domestic competitions.
Last season, however, he became Lyon’s first-choice goalkeeper and impressed with his aggressive style of goalkeeping and solid shot-stopping abilities.
He’s not very good at claiming, but hey, you can say the same about both Illan Meslier and Karl Darlow. Meslier struggled notably towards the end of the season, which resulted in him being dropped by manager Daniel Farke for the final seven matches in favour of experienced Darlow.
It’s widely expected that Perri begins the new season between the posts.
Igor Thiago (Brentford)
I know, I know…
The thing is, he just has this “new player” vibe about him.
The Brazilian forward arrived in London for €33 million as a replacement for Ivan Toney some time ago. However, before he could make an impact, he missed most of the previous season due to a knee injury.
In the 2023/2024 season, he was a key figure in Club Brugge’s attack, netting 18 goals and assisting 3 times over 2,700 minutes on the pitch.
He has averaged 2 shots and 0.43 xG per 90 minutes and has racked up 18 expected goals in total. Additionally, he recorded 0.16 xA per 90 minutes, which is well above average for a centre-forward. Remember—Ivan Toney replacement…
Apart from a strong link-up play, Thiago is also pretty good in the air, strong in duels, and provides his team with an exceptional work rate. In Belgium, he was relentless when pressing.
The season before that, he recorded 15 goals and provided 8 assists for Ludogorec Razgrad, marking his first stint in European competitions. It further highlights his ability to both score and create.
Of course, you never know what an injury like this might do to your performance, but he’s still only 24 years old and could get some minutes and perform well as soon as this season. It also depends on what happens with Yoane Wissa.
The dominoes in the strikers’ transfer market are still falling.
Young prodigy Estêvão Willian is certainly an exciting addition to the league, but let’s be honest, he probably deserves his own article. I’m also considering writing a standalone Chelsea piece—another interesting topic for the current pre-season.
Anyway, thank you for reading. If you enjoy the content, I would be thrilled if you could subscribe to this free weekly newsletter, or maybe pass it on to a friend who is a Premier League or FPL fan.
Until next week!