Everton have been linked with a potential transfer move for Santos right-back Joao Pedro Chermont
With half a dozen different players having occupied the role at various times already this season, the right-back berth has been a moveable feast for Everton but reports suggest the Blues are now targeting a Brazilian prospect to solve their problem position. Ashley Young, Roman Dixon, Seamus Coleman and midfielder James Garner have all started at right-back for Sean Dyche this term with Mason Holgate and Jake O’Brien both having spells there off the bench.
Nathan Patterson, who is now fit again after coming back a prolonged injury absence after undergoing surgery to correct a hamstring problem, was snapped up from Rangers for £11million plus add-ons in January 2022 with the view to becoming captain Coleman’s long-term successor but the Scotland international is yet to feature for the first team in the current campaign. It is therefore not surprising then, especially given that two of their options are Coleman, who turns 36 on Friday, and Young, who at 39 is already the club’s oldest ever outfield player, that Everton have been linked with some fresh blood at right-back.
A report from CaughtOffside namechecks Everton as one of a quartet of Premier League clubs, alongside Arsenal, Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers, who have been “closely monitoring the development of 18-year-old Santos sensation Joao Pedro Chermont.” The article adds: ‘Following their relegation from the top division last season, Santos are now open to offers below the talented young right-back’s £58million release clause to alleviate their financial difficulties.”
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Indeed, despite being the club that produced both the legendary Pele, and Neymar, who overhauled the three-time Brazil World Cup winner as the national team’s all-time leading goalscorer, Santos were relegated to Brazil’s Serie B for the first time in their 111-year history last December. Following their demotion though, ‘JP’ as he is known, who is a cousin of the football journalist Victorino Chermont who died in the 2016 plane crash that took the lives of 71 of the 77 on board, including members of Chapecoense squad on their way to play in the Copa Sudamericana finals, has become a first team regular.
After making his professional debut on March 9 this year, coming on as a 69th minute substitute in a 3-2 home win over Inter de Limeira in a Paulista Championship game, Chermont has made 30 appearances in all competitions so far this term. With the help of Comparisonator, we can examine what kind of player the youngster is.
The League and Team Finder section of Comparisonator’s Virtual Transfer tool enables us to look at which Premier League teams Chermont’s game is best suited for. With an A.I. Suitability Weight score of 107.57 he is deemed a better fit that Vladimir Coufal at West Ham United (106.62); Kristoffer Ajer at Brentford (93.13) and Julian Araunjo at Bournemouth (84.41).
The Virtual Transfer can also correlate Chermont’s numbers from this season against those already operating in his position in the Premier League. Although it must be remembered that these numbers are in the Brazilian second tier, carrying the ball appears to be a strength.
Only Chelsea’s Malo Gusto (1.4) can top Chermont’s 1.08 successful dribbles in the final third of the pitch per 90 minutes. He also comes in fourth (1.44) for successful dribbles overall, behind Gusto (1.8); Ola Aina of Nottingham Forest (1.75) and Diogo Dalot of Manchester United (1.5).
When it comes to defensive contributions though, Chermont finds himself way down compared to current Everton players. His 6.52 ball recoveries would put him 20th in a section topped by Gusto on 11.2 with Ashley Young fourth on 10.
Also, 3.08 interceptions would place him 21st, in a category Aina leads with 7.25, ahead of second place James Garner on 7. Crosses were an element that almost came off from right-back for Everton against Newcastle United last time out when Garner picked out Abdoulaye Doucoure for a headed goal, only for it to be chalked off for offside by VAR, and Chermont’s 2.96 would put him fourth among Premier League right-backs after Pedro Porro of Tottenham Hotspur (5.14); Gusto (3.4) and Jurrien Timber of Arsenal (3), although he drops to seventh for successful crosses (0.96), a category topped by Porro on 1.86.
Before the Friedkin Group’s takeover deal was announced last month, wannabe Everton owner John Textor got a slap on the wrist for speculating about current Blues boss Dyche’s appetite for Brazilian players. The Crystal Palace minority owner told Sky Sports: “I don’t know Sean personally but I watched him for so many years at Burnley doing wonders with no budget and so obviously he’s a guy who knows how to coach in the Premier League.
“I’d sit down with him at some point in the future and say that I’m going to bring him a very different profile of player from any corner of the world and ask him if he is interested.
“I’d ask him if he could coach this squad. I like that he has bought the big, tough Irish kid Jake O’Brien but does he like [Botafogo forwards] Igor Jesus or Luis Henrique? Does he have an ambition to coach that sort of profile?
“Does he have a system that would work for a squad that is optimised from the best players in the world? That’s further down the line, but I’m certainly not tinkering in the coaching department.”
Textor looks like missing out on his big Everton chance but identifying young South American talent is a market that remains relatively untapped for the club compared to some of their Premier League rivals. Perhaps director of football Kevin Thelwell and his recruitment team could be casting their net to the region after all, especially in preparation of the takeover deal hopefully going through?
*Comparisonator is a football data comparison tool from 271 professional leagues around the world which compares players and clubs by utilising over 100 different parameters. Click here for more details.