Although the final result was not what they wanted, Manchester City will have been delighted
to see debutant Julian Alvarez score a goal in the 32 minutes he was on the pitch for the
Community Shield. But the forward might not have been playing if the Manchester club had followed
a rule of thumb adopted by many elite European sides: never sign directly from South America.
When it comes to the Premier League, there are very few footballers who arrive at the so-called
“big six” sides directly from South America. Of the current South Americans playing in the league,
only five have made the move directly to a “big six” side. Three of these players were signed
by Manchester City: Gabriel Jesus—who recently moved to Arsenal—Julian Alvarez himself and then
Douglas Luiz, who was sent on loan to Girona, a club within the City Football Group, before
joining Aston Villa, his current club. Beyond these three, Gabriel Martinelli joined Arsenal
from Brazilian side Ituano in 2019 and Kenedy joined Chelsea from Brazilian club Fluminense
in 2015, although he has only picked up a handful of appearances for the London club in that time.
The reason for this wariness to sign directly from South America can be broken down
into three main areas: - a lower league quality
- a lower tactical level - and cultural differences
When it comes to league quality and tactical level, the step up from South American leagues
to the Premier League is deemed to be so great that any move made comes with
a certain level of risk attached. It’s why many elite clubs would rather wait and see
how South American players adapt at other clubs around Europe before bringing them in.
Portugal is a perfect staging post for Brazilian players in particular to make the step to Europe.
Not only is the step up smaller when it comes to league quality and tactical level, but also,
the cultural differences are less exacerbated than moving directly to the United Kingdom.
This isn’t simply about adapting to life in a country which speaks the same language and
enjoys a lot of cultural crossover. The step up to the Premier League also throws
these players under a global spotlight that simply isn’t there in Portugal.
This route is a tried and tested passage for players to make it into the Premier League.
Ederson, Fabinho, and the recently departed Raphinha
all made their first foray into European football in Portugal.
But what about the outliers? Two of the names mentioned as current Premier League
players who made the move directly from South America to the Premier League “big six” have
made the step up successfully. Regardless of how you read his time at Manchester City,
Gabriel Jesus has performed at the highest level both domestically and in European competition,
something which has prompted Arsenal to bring him in this summer. Similarly,
Gabriel Martinelli has adapted to Premier League life comfortably over the last two seasons.
But it’s not always the case. Chelsea’s signing of Kenedy will not go down in history as a success
and, although he’s now a regular in the Aston Villa side,
Douglas Luiz never made a senior appearance for Manchester City.
There’s a sense in which clubs like Manchester City and Chelsea can afford
to absorb these sorts of risks and, in the end, Manchester City did end
up making a healthy profit of around £5m when they sold Luiz to Aston Villa.
But the success of players like Gabriel Jesus shouldn’t really be viewed as a triumph of
scouting. The Sao Paulo native didn’t show up thanks to careful data filtering or the work
of a canny-eyed scout. He was the best player in the Brasileirão Série A in the two seasons
where he featured. Julian Alvarez is cut from the same cloth. Over the last couple of years, he was
the standout in Argentina's Primera División as his team, River Plate, challenged for the title.
With both Jesus and Alvarez, then,
the rule of thumb about elite European clubs not signing directly from South America
is worth breaking. But this doesn’t mean the rule doesn’t hold in most cases.
And the temptation to break the rule is only increasing.
Not only will the five-sub rule for Premier League teams allow teams more scope to develop
players, the introduction of the Government Body Endorsement regulations around player work permits
has made South American players much more available than they have been in the past.
Where before Brexit, European players had freedom of movement into the United Kingdom,
there are now stricter controls on immigration into the Premier League.
Players must now obtain a certain points threshold at which point they achieve a
Government Body Endorsement which will allow them to play in the UK.
Importantly, the points system that is being used prioritises both the Copa Libertadores and the
Copa Sudamericana, making players from those two competitions much more available to British clubs.
Expect to see more South American players in the Premier League in the next few
years, then. But keep the rule of thumb about direct transfers from South America in mind
and don’t assume those players who sign to elite sides will necessarily flourish.