"The search ends.
The target is confirmed.
The stats are promising.
But what do the eyes tell us?"

Carlos Vinicius.

A thread:

After taking time to look at Benfica's Carlos Vinicius, I'm here with this thread to provide you with a detailed thread of what kind of a player he is, and what he will bring to the club.

The aim of this thread is to give you something different, a PROPER UNDERSTANDING of him.

Vinicius' numbers are impressive. The stats are there. The Youtube comps are there.

There's NO USE of me talking about his numbers as you are a google search away from getting those details.

But, I want to present to you my observations. The things those comps don't tell you.

So, me being more of a "numbers can be deceptive, but the eyes don't lie," type of guy. I'm making this thread with the intent of explaining minute observations that you may not have noticed in the Youtube comps. I will talk about the systems he can play in and his tactical role.

Here's Carlos' profile:
Team: Benfica
Nationality:
Preferred Foot: Left
Height: 190cm

More attributes:
Taller than Kane (188cm)
Robust
Target-man
Fast enough (Much faster than Kane)
Has an eye for the pass
Can hold the ball to win FKs in dangerous positions.

So, before going any further, let me get this clear: STOP saying "BACKUP for Kane."

Most of you, the media, and the Striker targets themselves don't get this point.

If we needed a backup for Kane, then easily, it would've been the first signing this window.

But no, we waited.

I don't think you understand how many strikers we've looked at. Vinicius is one amongst a list of Milik, Weghorst, Daka, Edouard, and so many more excellent strikers.

The aim IS NOT ONLY to give Harry a rest but to also have a DIFFERENT attacking option up top. Please get this.

Vinicius and Kane have a lot in common, yet, there are certain things that Kane can do that no striker in the world is capable of doing. But, there are certain things that Kane can't/shouldn't do.

Every time I see a longball hoofed to Kane, I get scared, and I'm sure you do too.

It just doesn't feel right when Harry is challenging for those risky balls.

A: You always feel he is one bad tackle away from a long lay-off.
B: He's not very good at being a target-man. I mean the physical part, not his pinpoint passing, I'd be stupid if I meant that.

And so, from this mini-detour to Kane, let me bring the focus back to Vinicius. Some of you think he won't get enough games right? Wrong.

1:Europa League
2:Carabao
3:FA Cup
4:Rotation in the Prem.
5:System alongside Kane.

The season is LONG. There's a lot of tactical scope now.

What is Vinicius BEST at:

POACHING.
For a long time, we've lacked someone who can be devastating in the box. We've missed a player who is clever enough to be at the right place at the right time. We've missed someone who is READY to take the rebounds from shots our wingers take.

Vinicius, as far as what I've observed, is very clever with his positioning inside the box. He knows how to shrug markers off and make runs to confuse the zonal markers.

Kane is the most complete forward itw, but one thing he isn't is a poacher. He hardly needs to poach though.

But just because Kane doesn't need to poach, it doesn't mean that we don't need a poacher. We desperately need someone to bundle us over the line when things get nervy.

Main example, Newcastle last week. We were robbed, but there are things we could've done better, finishing.

Vinicius is also good in finding pockets of space to play passes in. Sure, no striker will ever be able to pass as good as Kane, but Carlos tries.

He can drag defenders towards him, and free space for our wingers to run through/cut inside. Again, the quality of a target-man.

Let's discuss systems, Vinicius can play in a:

1: 4-3-3. Sole striker, making runs into the box, scoring goals, holding the ball to free our pacy wingers. Preferably against sides that we'll dominate in the EL.

2: 4-4-2. R-L foot combo of Kane and Vinicius with Son & Bale wide.

My recommended system for both Kane and Vinicius to play in:

Hybrid 4-2-3-1:

Vinicius sits ahead with Kane dropping behind as an AM. This will magnify Kane's vision to the fullest extent and can be used against tougher sides like Man City & Liverpool.

PEH-Gio/TN double pivot.

I'm suggesting this hybrid 4-2-3-1 only for two games (City & Liverpool) where we might have to play a low block

In all other games, I'm confident that Gio-PEH-TN midfield will work well. But I still have doubts over the creative outlet during games where we will have to counter

So. With Kane obviously being our most creative player in the team. We can launch quick counters as soon as the ball is retrieved. Kane can feed deadly line-breaking passes to Vinicius or spread the play to the flanks to Son or Bale.

This is a very exciting tactical approach.

I've said a lot of positives about Carlos, now for a few negatives I've observed:

1: He might be a bit one-footed. No, NOT to the extent of Coco, but I've seen Carlos use his left-foot in a lot of situations where he should have used his right. But still, not as bad as Coco.

2: Can be too unselfish at times. Look at his assist numbers. You'll see him play passes where he should've shot instead. Might not work every time in a fast-paced league like the PL

3: He's a player from the Liga NOS. You don't know what you get till you get it. Unpredictable.

I want to add why we didn't go for Milik:

Vinicius is much faster than Kane. If you've read this far, you'll know that we're also getting him to increase the pace towards the end of games

If we signed Milik, who is slower than Kane, our counters will die on the spot, for sure.

Conclusion:
I get it. We wanted Weghorst, maybe Milik, Daka, Edouard. You must get that this is a loan with an OPTION to buy. We need a world-class CB than a HIGH-PROFILE ST

We need whatever funds we have for Skriniar. And Vinicius ticks all these boxes, tactically, financially.

Liga NOS is the most unpredictable league itw. Getting players from there is always going to be a flip of a coin. But I'm convinced that he has what it takes to give us exactly what we need.

I'm happy with this signing. Risk-free, smart, and most importantly, Jose's #1 choice.

But, I will finish this thread by calling out few hypocrites.

If you're insulting Carlos as he's from the Liga NOS, remember that you were begging for Bruno Fernandes and Ruben Dias. Some even wanted Marcus Edwards back

Be consistent, and give Carlos a chance, and then decide.

That's it for this thread.

Likes and retweets are very much appreciated.

I didn't go with stats & graphs as they can be very deceptive, especially for a player of Liga Nos.

I firmly believe my eyes than the numbers.

Now, go watch his comps again and watch him from a new POV.

@thfcrueben @LeeMcQueen @cenkoza @NozAhmed @LlorisFC @Zeus84053707

Mentioning you guys here because I don't want you to miss it out.