David Carmo Scout Report At Porto 2022/2023 – Pepe’s Towering New Partner At FC Porto

Chancel Mbemba’s exit created a void at centre-back for FC Porto.

Despite some internal options, the northern Portuguese side has opted for one of their neighbours’ bright young talents, signing David Carmo from Braga.

Carmo, who turns 23 on 19 July, is a physically imposing and towering presence, standing at 196 cm.

Anchoring the Braga back three during the second half of 2021/22, he helped the team to the third-fewest goals conceded in Portugal’s top flight.

Signed by Porto for €20 million, the club immediately injected an €80 million release clause into his contract.

Pairing him with Portugal’s long-time centre-back stalwart and Real Madrid legend, Pepe, also goes a long way towards securing a spot for Carmo on Portugal’s flight to Qatar.

This scout report will look at both the player and Porto’s positional needs through data and tactical analysis.

We aim to gain an understanding of the challenges Porto’s centre-backs face and how Carmo addresses their tactical needs.

Fitting the Porto profile

More so than any other position, the profile a club needs at centre-back is contingent upon both the game model and the pieces higher up the pitch.

So much context is needed in centre-back recruitment that we have to examine Carmos strengths as well as the profile Porto requires.

Lets start with the player profile.

Comparing his data to other centre-backs in the Primeira Liga, we see Braga relied heavily on his passing range to progress the attack.

In terms of sheer quantity, he was heavily involved.

However, his efficiency numbers rated poorly relative to other Primeira Liga centre-backs.

This is an area well have to return to through video analysis.

More surprising is the defensive actions data.

For someone who stands at 196 cm, you would expect him to win a higher percentage of aerial duels.

Furthermore, a