André, the midfield controller
The Who
André Trindade da Costa Neto
Age: 22
Nationality: Brazil
Preferred foot: Right
Height: 5’9
Position: defensive midfielder with the passing range of a no. 8
Academy: Fluminense
Club: Fluminense
The What
His early days were spent at Bahia Esporte Clube where he used to play as a Striker, his goal scoring acumen caught the eye of Fluminense scouts who signed him to the academy.
At Fluminense youth, his position was changed shifting him to midfield, which he initially wasn’t fond of but slowly grew into the role. He grew up idolizing the combative defensive midfielder Felipe Melo. He was given the captains arm band down the road as he grew into one of their most promising players.
He is a modern day defensive midfielder, one who is adapt at controlling the midfield but has also has the passing range and ability to push the ball up like a no. 8
The Why
He is a very technically gifted midfielder, a very good dribbler, being agile and quick he has the ability to carry the ball from the back up the pitch with relative ease.
He is deceptively strong, a very effective tackler winning a high percentage & a natural when it comes to take-ons against opposition defenders.
Solid fitness. Last season (2021/22) he featured an incredible 61 times for Fluminense in all competitions while winning the Taca Guanabara and Campeonato Carioca. His performances earned him a call up the Brazil NT
Weakness: getting booked comes with the territory of being a defensive midfielder and he has accumulated his shares of yellow cards, it is something he has to work on in terms of timing his tackles and defensive actions with more intelligence and composure. Being 5’9 for some is seen as a concern but there are plenty of very tall players that are very poor aerially and plenty of players like Thiago who are very good aerially for their height. Height alone is not enough, timing & intelligence also key. Aerial attributes can also be improved upon.
The Data:
As per Fbref data in last 365 days:
Viz by fbcharts, data powered by fbref
The View:
With a reported fee around 25-30M€, a player like him wont come around very often at that price range. This is a great opportunity to sign him as a player that still can develop into one of the worlds best in his position, specially under Jurgen Klopp
In May, Fluminense Sporting director Fred said “Today in Brazil, after Endrick has already been sold, André is the most valued and coveted player”
Thanks Matthew! Please let me know your Twitter name so I can follow you back! Tag me on the reply thanks! :)
Hey, appreciate your contribution to the football discussion. Regarding this piece, I found the weakness section regarding André's height to be weakly argued. Yes, of course, some taller players are poor at aerial duels and shorter players are great at them. We have many of those examples right in the Liverpool squad. It would have been better to explain how he uses his body to his advantage despite whatever deficits that may be inherent to being shorter. For example hypothetically, how he uses his hips to hold defenders off, or how he can ride tackles or that when going for a duel he slightly bumps his opponent before they jump you get what I mean. The rest was informative.