Why More Brazilians Are On A Direct Journey To The Premier League

The freezing weather at Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium last weekend was a sharp introduction to English soccer for Danilo, Nottingham Forest’s latest big signing.

The 21-year-old Brazilian only arrived in England earlier in the week but was thrown straight into action after Forest’s midfielder Ryan Yates went off injured.

“He was good, wasn’t he?” said Forest boss Steve Cooper about Danilo’s performance.

The only “Brazil” usually heard at the City Ground is academy manager and perennial caretaker boss Gary Brazil, so to have three Brazilians on the pitch for the Reds is quite a novelty.

And even more surprising is that two of them, former Palmeiras teammates Danilo and Gustavo Scarpa, were signed directly from Brazil.

Premier League clubs have signed six players directly from Brazil this season. Chelsea signed Andrey Santos from Vasco de Gama and West Ham United brought in Luizao from Sao Paulo this winter. Willian joined Fulham from Corinthians in the summer, and Marquinhos moved from Sao Paulo to Arsenal. Newcastle United are also reportedly looking to sign Matheus Franca from Flamengo and Wolverhampton Wanderers have been pushing for his teammate Joao Gomes.

It’s a similar story in Argentina where Manchester City have signed Argentinean Maximo Perrone from Velez Sarsfield, one of three players to move directly from the country to the Premier League this winter.

There are now thirty-three Brazilians in the Premier League, making Brazil the joint-second most represented nationality in England’s top flight.

Brazilians in the Premier League have usually been signed from European sides, like Manchester United’s Casemiro, who joined from Real Madrid, Fred, who was signed from Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk, and Antony, who United bought from Ajax this summer.

The difference this season though, is that more Brazilians are joining the Premier League directly from Brazil.

In the past ten seasons, no more than three players have moved straight from Brazil to the Premier League in a single season, with no players making the move in some years. No more than four players in one season have made the move from Argentina and Brazil combined.

There are several reasons why more players are moving directly from Brazil and Argentina to the Premier League.

Part of the reason is that Brexit, and the changes in work permit rules that stem from that, have made it relatively easier to sign South American players. It has taken a while for clubs to develop their scouting networks to the point where they can take advantage of this, but now those networks are starting to pay off.

Another main driver is the increasing financial strength of the Premier League compared to other leagues in Europe.

Premier League sides outside the Champions League regulars now have the financial power to attract the top young players, can offer higher salaries than many clubs in Europe, and can afford to take a risk on a $10 million signing that might not work out.

While plenty of players are still moving from Brazil to Spain and Portugal, players this season have moved to newly promoted Fulham and Forest, and even to Championship side Norwich City, who signed midfielder Gabriel Sara from Sao Paulo for more than $10 million despite getting relegated to England’s second tier. Meanwhile, Southampton and Brighton and Hove Albion have also signed players directly from clubs in Argentina.

Another pull factor has been the success of the few Brazilians and Argentineans at mid-table Premier League clubs in the recent past. Richarlison at Watford and Raphinha at Leeds United have both earned big moves, while Bruno Guimaraes at Newcastle United, Emi Martinez at Aston Villa, and Alexis Mac Allister at Brighton all played for their country at the World Cup.

Another reason could be the need for Brazilian and Argentinean clubs to cash in on their assets.

South American soccer expert Tim Vickery says a trend for the very top clubs like Real Madrid is to buy the top young talent with potential as early as possible, as they did with Vinicius Junior, Reinier and Endrick, who won’t even join Madrid until he turns 18 in 2024.

The gap between the Brazilian leagues and Europe is so wide that clubs want the players with potential to play in Europe from as early as possible to help their development. This means when it comes to players like Danilo, who is still only 21 and is on the edge of the Brazil national team, his market value is already falling and would have started dropping quite rapidly if he had stayed at Palmeiras next season.

Danilo and Scarpa’s performances at Forest in the short time they’ve been in England suggest that they can cope with the pace of the Premier League just fine, but this drive for youth by the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City and Real Madrid might have meant Forest had less competition when trying to sign Danilo.

The question is whether this season is a one off, or part of a trend.

Brazil is a major soccer exporter, but a new law could allow its local teams to acquire greater overseas investment, strengthening domestic soccer in the country. It is too early to say how this new law will change Brazilian soccer, previous reform attempts have failed in the past, but some consortiums trying to reform Brazilian soccer believe it could be on par with France’s Ligue 1 within the decade. This could make top Brazilian clubs a bit more reluctant to cash in on their star assets.

For now though, the top young Brazilians will keep moving to top European clubs, and the top slightly-older Brazilians are seeing a direct route to mid-table in the Premier League as the next step in their careers.