And during his single campaign with Espanyol in 2022-23? You guessed it. The Brazilian was numero uno in La Liga too.
“Defensively, Vini is head and shoulders above the rest,” said the former Burnley midfielder Steven Defour, who coached Souza at Belgian side Mechelen in 2021-22. “He breaks down an incredible number of attacks.”
Those destructive instincts were first spotted by veteran Portuguese manager Jorge Jesus, who immediately promoted Souza to the first team upon his arrival at Flamengo in 2019.
Asked why, he drew comparisons with Nemanja Matic, the former Chelsea and Manchester United midfielder with whom he’d won a domestic treble at Benfica.
Similar sentiments were expressed when, after just eight appearances for the Brazilian giants, Souza joined Lommel for 2.5m euros.
Oddly, he rarely featured for the Belgian second-tier side, spending his second season on loan at Mechelen and his third at Espanyol before making a £10m move to Bramall Lane following the Blades’ promotion to the Premier League in 2023.
But he did come up against Scotland international Lawrence Shankland, who spent a season in Belgium with Beerschot in 2021-22.
Esta historia es de la edición October 20, 2024 de The Football League Paper.
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