Yan Couto is the latest Manchester City signing! €6m might not be a high transfer fee to many clubs, especially the City Football Group. However, not many 17-year-old youngsters carry that price tag either (€6m, potentially rising to €12m).
Thanks to his sharp performances in the FIFA U17 World Cup, Yan Couto was wanted by many clubs – Chelsea, Barcelona, and of course, City.
“I had a good conversation with Barcelona and I thought I would go there, but then Manchester City appeared and showed me how things would be there.” Couto
After meeting Pep Guardiola, the current City manager, Couto was guaranteed a place in the preseason squad to impress the coach. So, why is he such a hot prospect, regarded as the ‘new Dani Alves’?
In this tactical analysis, we will cover the strengths of Couto, and why he is a perfect fit for City’s tactics and footballing philosophy.
Background and overview
Born in Curitiba, Brazil in 2002, Couto turned 18 last week. He has been growing at Coritiba academy system. In the new calendar year, the Brazilian was promoted to the first team, playing his only two professional games in the Campeonato Paranaense.
Couto is a right-back. The below heat map summarises his action zones on the field – mainly operating on the right flank. It is very clear that Couto has an offensive mindset, as his actions were evenly split between both halves.
Apart from deploying as a right-back, Couto’s attacking ability and energetic displays also helped him to survive in a back three system as a right wing-back. Or, when a pivot dropped aside from the centre-backs, Couto was often pushed forward.
Offensive phase
Couto has good ball-passing technique, therefore, he always tries to play an in-ball to find players at the centre. This was conducive to the sustainability of an attack, as the receiver would have a positional superiority, it means having more options and angles for a pass.
In this example, average right-backs would play the vertical pass or a long ball, as these options were visible and easy. However, Couto was different, despite under pressure, he still passed to the centre. As I have mentioned, the receiver has the positional superiority to further progress. On the contrary, if he chose the normal route, then the ball was trapped in the wide areas and the Brazil U17 team would find it harder to progress up the pitch.
This tra
