We all love a brazillian wonderkid. And for many moons we have looked jealously upon other clubs signing these would be superstars, a staggeringly high number of which in the least become decent players. I can remember us been linked with so many, all of them even, but the sum part of any success I can draw to mind is the Appelt brothers, with Gabriel, who ended up blossoming in Spain before moving to Benfica.
Perhaps our luck, or ambition, or both, have changed. As we seem set to sign 19 year old Kaio Jorge Pinto Ramos , from Santos, albeit through hook and crook, given the agreement apparently already in place with Benfica as well as AC Milan involved in advanced discussions…Until, it became apparent we had somehow mooched in through the back door and grabbed the player for a cut price.
“Juventus has reached the conditions we had requested and which we believe were the best for the club, given the scenario we found ourselves in. Good luck to Kaio Jorge: we hope he will follow his path well,” said the president of Santos Andres Rueda.
They were set to lose him, as had not managed to tie him down to a new contract which ends at the turn of the year. This allowed Juve to open dialogue direct with the player and he took the bait…
Yet this is no case of stumbling upon an unexpected opportunity and taking a punt. For we have been linked with the player since February of 2020.
Looking at his stats is not impressive, but watching his videos certainly does create the impression of a talented player. Who has a superb change of pace, high level intelligence and awareness and can be potent in the box, yet as mentioned in the piece below, Kaio is more creative and dynamic than a goal machine.
One of the few lengthy articles I found on the player>>>
The boy from Olinda, Pernambuco, wore the number 9 on the Under-17 World Cup that Brazil conquered at the end of 2019. He struck 5 times, including one in the final against Mexico, and despite the fact that the top scorer prize was taken away by the Dutchman Sontje Hansen, who scored 6, the Brazilian boy, undoubtedly, created an impression of bigger things to come in the near future.
The boy has already been labeled as the ‘new Cristiano Ronaldo’ due to his stature and similar attributes at such a young age. He has superb technique, quick feet, and decent aerial ability.
Kaio Jorge Pinto Ramos aka Kaio Jorge is regarded as a forward, but he is far from being just a forward, but a genuine mouse in the opposition penalty area blessed with a great positioning intelligence as well as good association with his teammates and an accurate shot.
Kaio is fast and smart, with that pillería that a few years ago was said to be typical of street-soccer, One of his strengths is in attacking the space behind the defence to take advantage of passes to the hole- more explosively over short distances than with long, long strides.
One of his gifts is the Jeitinho – the ability to create moments of magic.
Like Cristiano, he can draw the defenders into him giving the impression he would score, but instead, he would exploit the tiny spaces behind him by providing a crucial assist.
He is not blessed with pace like Vinicius Junior or Rodrygo Goes, but one thing sets him apart from the rest of the young Brazilians, is his intelligent movement with or without the ball – thus, he’s able to work the channels and keep defences guessing.
Kaio does his best work more centrally.
He comes alive in the box and makes sharp, decisive darts to get into good goal-scoring position.
Of course, he possesses 83.6% of passing abilities.
Kaio joined Santos’ youth setup in 2012, aged ten.
In November 2017, aged only 15, he was promoted to the under-20 squad.
On 21 September 2018, Kaio was promoted to the first-team by manager Cuca.
He made his professional – and Serie A – debut nine days later, coming on as a second-half substitute for Bruno Henrique in a 1–0 home defeat of Atletico Paranaense, becoming the sixth youngest debutant of the club’s history.
On January 11, 2019, after lengthy negotiations, Kaio signed his first professional contract with the club, agreeing to a three-year deal. He scored his first goal for Peixe on 3 March of the following year, netting his team’s second in a 2–1 Copa Libertadores away win against Defensa y Justicia; it was also his debut match in the competition.
Kaio was called up to Brazil under-15s for the 2017 South American U-15 Championship, scoring four goals in only three matches during the tournament.
On September 21, 2018, he was called up to the under-17s for a friendly tournament in Nantwich and Telford, England.
On September 20, 2019, Kaio was included in Guilherme Dalla Déa’s 21-man list for the 2019 FIFA Under-17 World Cup, and in that tournament; he caught the attention of the giants in Europe.
Kaio attempted more shots (28) on goal than any other players.
According to Outside of the Foot, “Most of Kaio’s goals come from inside the penalty box on his favoured right foot but he still has a lot of variation in his finishing. Whether it be simple tap-ins, cool placed one-on-one efforts, or more instinctive efforts and snap-shots, Kaio scores all sorts of goals. While not renowned for his height or aerial ability, his heading is decent too”.
At the moment, Juventus are heavily interested in the 18-year old. Santos president Jose Carlos Peres confirmed in March that Juve had entered into talks to sign Jorge and if Juve wish to sign him then they would have to rack up a staggering $56.5million which would activate the teenagers’ release clause – Under contract until December 2021.
Regarding the move to Turin, Kaio said to Corriere dello Sport, “I leave these things to my agent. I don’t get involved, he manages them.”
(above taken from HERE)
The money talked of is 3m with 1.5 due shortly, the rest next year, maybe a little more on top in the future, perhaps with a sell-on clause of 5%. Whether we had to pay the fee or risk losing him is unknown, but regardless, its not mega money by any measure and appears, without having followed the player, a smart move by the club.
Where he could fit into our current first team squad is a tough question to answer, as he is young, will probably need time to adjust to a different culture, country, language which leads to the idea of the U23 side. Yet to go from playing in the first team for Santos to Serie C in Italy may be too low a dive for his hopes and development. The middle ground is to be loaned out and yet I suppose we can dream a little, imagine he appears and instantly impresses so much that Max considers him for he first team squad.
What many seem to forget is that there is a squad limit for Serie A, which is even tighter for the CL. Add in home grown requirements and the situation becomes tricky. Will leave this to Max to sort out, yet will surely be following his progress with keen interest and I applaud the club for what seems a very low risk investment on a talented kid.
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