Scout Report RB: Gabriel Sara - Norwich City
Samba De Janeiro! A Brazilian at Carrow Road is an exciting prospect. This blog post/thread will provide a scout report on Gabriel Sara, Norwich City’s exciting new Brazilian midfielder.
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This report will investigate the English FA’s four-corner model to provide a complete observational analysis looking at all aspects of player performance with a blend of statistical analysis to provide context.
Player Profile
Sara is an exciting all-action midfielder that is a product of the fruitful Sao Paulo academy. He has had an injury-hampered campaign so far with his most recent struggle being an ankle ligament issue. He has an athletic if wiry build. He is 5’10, 73kg and favours his left foot. He is incredibly versatile tactically having played in numerous positions for the Brazilian side. At 23 years of age, he comes to Norwich as an exciting prospect with development still to do. (All data visuals are based on Serie A (Brazilian first division) midfielders that have played a minimum of 900 mins.)
TECHNICAL (7/10)
Sara is a very progressive player. His first thought is always about how he can progress the ball. He has great quality in how he does this with ball carrying being one of his finest attributes due to his athleticism and elite ball mastery. His first touch is often good, but he can sometimes be caught out as he is too busy thinking about the next action sometimes.
Due to the type of player Sara is he can be slightly inconsistent with his passing. He is accurate in his passing but due to his attitude, he will often try the difficult pass and the more progressive option meaning his ball retention suffers. He has a proclivity to a long-range pass, and these are usually effective.
He offers a goal threat from deep. He is very effective in his off-the-ball movement and his timing of run meaning he often arrives in dangerous positions and has lots of touches in the box. This coupled with his good quality of ball striking makes him a threat from a distance when on his favoured left foot.
Sara also offers a goal threat with his effective aerial technique. When arriving late at the box he has scored numerous goals with headers around the penalty spot. He also shows good aggression in his aerial duels.
Sara is a hard worker off the ball. He presses consistently throughout the game showing good timing in his tackling and an astute in his game awareness allowing him to intercept passes. As stated, he is a nuisance in duels and is effective at positioning his body to beat stronger players. He also has long legs which help in his effectiveness in breaking up play.
TACTICAL (6/10)
Sara is an all-action box-to-box midfielder offering quality in defence and attack. He is constantly looking to make things happen in both defence and attack. This means if he not influencing the game this will be obvious.
He sometimes struggles with his decision-making. He often tries to dribble in a risky area or play an ambitious pass when ball retention is preferable. He is better in his decision-making when deciding to commit to a press often being successful.
Off the ball he is dynamic. He moves well in the build-up to provide an option for progression. He is aggressive with his late runs into the box in which he is a real threat aerially. He is clever in how he defends and is also aggressive with his pressing but has the competency to know when to delay the defensive transition.
He has a good football brain. His reading of the game is good, and this allows him to effectively break up play. He positions himself well and has the awareness to be given specific tactical instructions such as pressing triggers and man-marking.
MENTAL (7/10)
He works incredibly hard and covers a lot of distance in games. He will often lead the press in his commitment to winning the ball back. He drives others on through his attitude to winning the ball back. He is a natural winner, and in the games I watched, he is a hard worker when they are comfortably winning and is the same when his side is on the end of a heavy loss
He gives the presence of an understated character. He looks to let his football do the talking and this could be an element of his game he lacks. He doesn’t show discernible leadership qualities but as stated he leads through his actions and endeavour.
He shows good aggression/bravery. He is aggressive in his ground duels both offensive and defensive. He gives the impression of a scrappy player willing to hustle and work. Aerially he can struggle to make the first contact of the ball, but he never gives a clear header looking to make a nuisance of himself. He will be an asset in defending set pieces.
PHYSICAL (8/10)
Sara’s physicality is a big part of his game. Although not physically imposing in his frame he has great athleticism. He is also leggy which helps his power in sprints and means he is effective in tackling. He offers the required physical ability that you would expect of a premier league 8.
He also has a good level of power. He is explosive and coupled with his good agility he is effective in his dribbling. This means he is lethal on the offensive transition and drives his team on.
He isn’t overly strong, but he has a natural ability to position his body well to beat players you would say seem stronger than him. This is largely what makes him as successful as he is in his ground duels.
He can offer his game for the entirety due to his levels of energy and stamina. He will continue to press and track back for the entirety. He will drive his time on through his energy and will be seen driving forward on a direct run late in a game at some point this season.
CONCLUSION
This would be an exciting signing for Norwich City. Sara offers quality going forward and a goal threat from deep whilst offering the physicality, intelligence, and aggression to enact Smith’s ideals of an aggressive counter-pressing side. He has an attitude to the game that will excite Smith and he also has the natural ability to make things happen in-game that will excite the fans. This all whilst being at an age where there is an improvement to come from the player points to a good piece of business that will bring a missing link to what the team needs now whilst also securing an asset with potential resale value.
The potential question marks around this acquisition would be how he will return post-injury and the time it will take to adapt to playing in England. To this, I would suggest the injury being a concern mainly due to the lack of preseason Sara will have taking away from his cohesion in the group and the fitness he will have going into competitive fixtures. The adaptation period I feel will be quick, Brazilian football is known for its aggression and is a tough league to perform consistently in. This would ease any concerns I have, not knowing the language won't affect this player as much as others as he isn’t a big communicator, and he doesn’t need direction.
Therefore, I am very excited about this transfer. The fee is a concern as it would be a record for the club. The player they would be getting however is exceptional at a championship level. He will drive this side on and would be comfortable being the superstar. He comes with an infectious energy that will spur this Norwich side on and is a real statement of intent from the club.
