Scouting Barcelona Transfer Target Luan Guilherme
It was evident from the moment he came onto the field that he had that something special. Brazil had put in a relatively aimless display against South Africa in their 2016 Olympic Games curtain raiser. Neymar had huffed and puffed, but goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune’s house hadn’t come close to being blown down.
Enter Luan Guilherme, a creative forward who can play both out wide, up front and in the hole, along with Rafinha, as coach Rogerio Micale rolled the dice in a bid to break the deadlock. Although the game finished goalless, Brazil looked a much greater threat after the substitutions were made. And that was down to the forward, Luan.
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Rafinha is a fine player, but he lacks fitness having barely played last season and then suffered an untimely injury that ruled him out of the Copa America. The difference in Brazil’s play, which instantly looked more focused, more dangerous, was thanks to Luan.
He created the game’s best chance, with quick footwork in the area carving out some space before his cross-shot was fired wide from a yard out by new Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus at the far post. It was a moment that cost Brazil the victory.
It made it all the more puzzling that in the second game he was left on the bench again, as Brazil toiled against Iraq. Luan was brought on at half-time and again he improved the team, but not as dramatically as in the first match, and the game finished goalless.
Luan started the next game against Denmark, and Brazil were transformed. That was not solely down to him, but he played well, scoring a goal and creating one for Gabriel Jesus, and he helped them romp to victory to reach the quarter-finals when the alternative was an embarrassingly early exit on home soil.
The forward did some fine work down the right before sending in a big dipper of a cross that landed perfectly for Jesus to finish with aplomb. Then he demonstrated his own goalscoring prowess, dispatching well from 10 yards out after the ball was dragged back to him from the left. Luan showed intelligence to peel off his man and create space for the cut-back, before keeping a cool head for the finish.
Present and correct was Barcelona’s sporting director Robert Fernandez, who is in the country to run the rule over potential signings. He says Barcelona are out to complete the purchase of a "fourth" striker as back-up to the MSN—Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Neymar—trio before August 20, when they kick off their La Liga season at home against Real Betis.
Per Sport, Fernandez said: "We are going to sign a forward. The options are on the table and we will take the most opportune decision. It will be before the start of the league season. That is our intention."
And of the potential forwards, Luan has been heavily linked. Football agent Junior Minguella revealed on Twitter that Barcelona had bid €25 million for Luan, but his club, Gremio, were demanding €30 million (h/t Sport).
According to Brasil Global Tour editor Rupert Fryer, an expert voice on football in the country and the talented youngsters coming through, a move to Spain would not be a problem for the 23-year-old, based on both his technical and physical talents.
“La Liga should suit him,” he told Bleacher Report. “Luan is gifted enough to deal with the technical level of the league and his dynamism would stand out all the more in Spain than it would in the Premier League, from where there has also been interest.
“Going from South America to Southern Europe is a route that has proved more successful for young talent since the globalisation of the game.
“Barcelona will likely have been impressed by his dynamism and versatility. He is comfortable operating anywhere across the attacking line and also in the position behind the striker in a 4-2-3-1.
“His best performances for Gremio have come from the false No. 9 position, so he would provide Barcelona with a variation to the setup of their usual front three. He’s quick, dynamic, skilful, creative and intelligent.
“Luan is a rising star in the Brazilian game and interest from some of Europe's biggest clubs is well merited for a player who took a little time to live up to the early hype. Long heralded as a future star, he burst onto the scene in 2015 after a more attacking system was introduced at Gremio.”
One of the biggest problems Barcelona have had in their search for a fourth striker is finding a player who is good enough to stand in for one of the “holy trinity” while also being patient enough to wait for a chance that may take some time in coming.
For that reason, younger players are preferred to older ones, because a striker like Luan could learn a lot from Messi and Co. in training while doing his best to impress Luis Enrique and get minutes on the pitch.
However, as Fryer points out, it could put him in an inopportune situation for both club and country. He explained: “Luan looks likely to play fourth-fiddle to Brazil's new golden trio (Neymar and the Gabriels, Jesus and Barbosa) so the question would be whether he is willing to embrace the role and do the same at Barca, or whether he is unwilling to waste any more time and set out to establish himself as a leading man.”
Luan's goalscoring rate for Gremio has not been hugely impressive, with 25 goals in 105 games, but that's largely due to how he's been used and the element of his game that allows him create openings for others instead of always being the man to finish the job off.
His interplay with Neymar—and also Rafinha at times in the South Africa game—is a big positive, and if there’s anything Barcelona are yet to learn about Luan, all they have to do is ask their No. 11.
The forward is silky on the ball, and having started as a futsal player, his skills are impressive and help him outwit opponents, albeit not with the same regularity or panache that Neymar does. Despite being technically gifted, Luan is no pushover at 6' tall—and he is strong, too. That should help him adapt to the European game quicker than other players who have made the journey to Europe.
So technically and physically ready, the only doubts there are about Luan’s suitability for the fourth-striker role at Barcelona is mental. Can he cope with the near-impossibility of battling for a place with Messi, Neymar and Suarez? Will he be able to keep learning and progressing while waiting for his chance to shine?
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