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.
この記事は The Football League Paper の October 20, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は The Football League Paper の October 20, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
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