Under the Radar Transfers - July Edition
Felix Correira - Manchester City to Juventus
Young Portuguese winger Felix Correia joined Juventus, as part of a swap deal that saw Pablo Moreno move from Turin, to Correia's former club, Manchester City. Correia never actually played for Manchester City. After his arrival from Sporting Lisbon's youth set-up in the summer of 2019, he was quickly loaned out to AZ Alkmaar's youth team, Jong AZ, of the Eerste Divisie.
Because the league is in some ways a reserve division, it's a hotspot for young talent. In the last few years Andre Onana, Matthis de Ligt, Todd Cantwell and Steven Bergwijn have all featured prominently in the league.
Despite this being Correia's first taste of professional first team football, he adapted to the league well, 3 goals and 5 assists represents a healthy return for such a young player.
Correia played on the left-wing in Jong AZ's 4-3-3 formation. He was most effective when cutting in from the wing to either shoot or link up with his Jong AZ teammates on the edge of the box. His greatest asset is close control and effective dribbling, highlighted in his goal against SC Cambuur, where Correira dribbled around 2 defenders before slotting the ball past the keeper. When in central areas his quick feet can be the key to unlocking defences.
Still, there is work to be done on Correia's attacking output. He only managed 14 shots in 26 games last season. Considering that the Eerste Divisie is an expressive, attacking league, that number should be higher. The winger's smaller frame will also be challenged by the more combative style of Italian football, though naturally, that is something that will develop with age.
Whilst it's unlikely that Correia will feature for the Juventus first team next season, the arrival of such a talented player represents smart business by the Italian side.
Amine Gouiri - Lyon to Nice
Nice's £6.3 million acquisition of Amine Gouri appears to be shrewd business. The striker who is capped by France across various youth levels, left Lyon in search of more minutes. Last season, he featured for one solitary minute in Ligue 1. Therefore, it's hard to know if Gouiri is ready for the top-flight yet. Although his performance for Lyon's youth team and the French U21 team should give Nice fans cause for optimism.
In the National 2, Gouiri scored 8 goals for Lyon's reserves, finding the net every 117 minutes. His display against Moulins Yzeure Foot goes some way to proving that the forward has outgrown youth football. A free-kick, a volley, a chip over the keeper, and a tap-in handed Gouiri a four goal haul inside the first half.
The Frenchmen added to his goal tally in the more competitive UEFA Youth League, where he scored 3 times in 4 games.
Gouiri is perhaps best known for playing for various France at youth level. At the U19 UEFA European Championship in 2018, he finished as 2nd top scorer with 4 goals. More recently in 2019, he accumulated 3 more goals in 4 games.
As Total Football Analysis have said, Gouiri attempted 6.7 dribbles per 90 last season. His tight control and quick feet attract defenders towards the striker, freeing up space for Gouiri's team-mates. Considering that Nice were 14th for 'touches in the opposition box' last season, Gouiri's dribbling might be crucial in giving Nice a different option to lateral passes.
Clearly Lyon didn't feel Gouiri was ready yet to make the step up to first-team football, but if given minutes, Nice's calculated gamble may pay off.
Nathan Ferguson - West Brom to Crystal Palace
This time last season, Nathan Ferguson hadn't appeared in the West Brom first-team, now he's months away from playing in the Premier League with Crystal Palace. Much to West Brom's anguish the 19 year-old defender joined the London-based club on a free transfer after his contract expired this summer.
Despite coming through the West Brom academy as a centre-back, Ferguson has excelled at bombing up from the wing, from right and left-back. According to WhoScored He completed 1.5 dribbles per game, compared to Crystal Palace's Joel Ward, who only completed 0.3 dribbles per game last season. Ferguson's passing is strong too. Slaven Bilic was so impressed by his passing, that he was convinced that Ferguson was a central midfielder. A 77.1% pass completion rate is impressive, considering the role of the modern full-back in the final third.
At 5'9 Ferguson will be one of Crystal Palace's smaller defenders, although that shouldn't be much of a problem if he's deployed as a full-back.
An area that Ferguson may need to improve on in the Premier League is the amount of fouls he commits. 1.5 fouls per game last season is much higher than Ward's 0.8 fouls per game, as well as Crystal Palace's left-back, Patrick van Aanholt's 0.3 fouls per game.
But, if Ferguson showed one thing last season, it was his quick learning. Danny Higgingbottom agrees: "I think he's got the mindset; I think he's got the intelligence defensively to be able to cope in the Premier League."
A man of the match performance in his first professional game, and playing at both right and left-back show the way that Ferguson had adapted to his environment so far in his career, he'll be confident of making the step up once again.
Hee-Chan Hwang - RB Salzburg to RB Leipzig
Hee-Chan Hwang made the predictable move this summer from RB Salzburg to RB Leipzig. He follows the likes of Naby Keita, Hannes Wolf and Dayot Upamecano. The £13.5 million transfer should be excellent business for the German side.
Hwang has been at Salzburg since 2016, but it was until last season when the centre-forward truly announced himself both in Austria and on the European stage.
Hwang managed 23 goal involvements in 27 Austrian Bundesliga games, recording a goal or assist on average every 68 minutes he was on the pitch. His contribution to Salzburg's Champions League campaign was even more promising. 3 goals and 5 assists in 6 games, with a goal involvement every 67 minutes shows the consistency of the Korean's performance regardless of the opposition.
At Anfield, Hwang got the better of Van Dijk, shaping to shoot on his left, before chopping the ball back past the Dutchman and blasting the ball in with his right.
He was commonly played as a centre-forward in a 4-2-2-2 formation, often dropping a bit deeper than his striking partner (Haaland or Daka). At Leipzig, Hwang would work well in a partnership with Yusef Poulsen, although he is comfortable playing anywhere across the frontline. In all competitions last season, the Korean averaged 5.59 dribbles per 90 and 2.3 key passes per 90, showing that Hwang has more to his game than just scoring goals, he can also be the creative spark for the team.
Perhaps the only weakness, is an over-reliance on his right-foot, as FBref points out, Hwang uses his right-foot to pass, touch and shoot the ball 88% of the time, something that will be noted in the top European leagues in the attempt to nullify Hwang's threat.
Pedrinho - Corinthians to Benfica
Not much is known of Brazilian winger, Pedrinho in Europe. Therefore, it came as a surprise when he joined Benfica for £18 million this summer, making him the 4th most expensive player to be signed by the Lisbon-based club. Although this transfer was confirmed in February, the player did not formally join Benfica until the start of July.
His primary position is on the right-wing, where he tends to cut inside on his favoured left foot. When cutting in to shoot off the right, Pedrinho has not been overly effective, with only 5 goals for Corinthians in the Brazilian Serie A last season. Considering that only 22.6% of Pedrinho's shots were taken inside the box, it's not surprising why his goal tally is lower than expected. 3 of his 5 goals came outside the box, too, demonstrating a player who is exciting to watch, but not one with the sharpest decision-making.
Averaging 6.16 dribbles per 90, with a success rate of 70.4%, Pedrinho is a winger that often takes on the left-back. His pace and close control make him hard to win the ball off, leading to his high dribble success rate. Like his goal tally though, Pedrinho's 4 assists in the league, is something he will hope to improve on in Liga NOS, to make the most of his effective dribbling.
Only Anthony, now of Ajax, had a higher average rating amongst under-21's in the Brazilian Serie A last season. Clearly, the winger has more to his game than just goals and assists. Only 5 more players in the Brazilian Serie A created more chances than him (50) from open play last year.
If Pedrinho's looking for inspiration on how to become a more complete right-winger next season, Benfica's very own, Pizzi is a good place to start. In his last two seasons in Liga NOS Pizzi has made 63 goal contributions. It will be interesting to see how the two will fit into Benfica's first-team.
