Otavio is the latest name linked with a summer transfer to Everton but is he worth the potential big money fee it might take to prise him away from Porto?
Sport Witness cites O Jogo as claiming that Everton have “asked for” the player but they know that they will need to get close to his €60million (£51.25million) release clause to even tempt his current employers into negotiations.
Just what sort of player commands this sort of fee though? Although the 27-year-old is primarily a right-winger, Comparisonator’s Similarity Comparison rates him of having a 94% match in playing style with Internazionale’s European Championship star of last summer, Nicolo Barella, who is a central midfielder.
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The current Premier League player deemed closest to Otavio is Manchester City’s fellow Portugal international Bernardo Silva with an 85% score. A closer examination of his style can be obtained through importing his statistics for the 2021/22 season through a virtual transfer to the Premier League, ranking them alongside other right-wingers already operating within the division.
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Otavio’s biggest strength appears to be his ability to play a killer ball given that playing in the Portuguese Primeira League, he made more successful key passes per game (1.13) than any Premier League player, with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (1.05) averaging more than one per 90 minutes while Raheem Sterling of Manchester City was next up on 0.88. Such an ability would place him fourth in the Premier League in terms of assists (0.38 per game) behind Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus (0.45), Chelsea’s Reece James (0.42) and Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise (0.4).
Otavio’s best work is primarily in the danger zone too as he would rank third in the Premier League for successful passes in the final third of the pitch (18.74 per game) behind Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City (24.13) and Chelsea’s James (23.15). The Brazilian-born player isn’t afraid of working hard off the ball though and his 1.88 ball recoveries per game in the opponents’ half would top Everton’s very own Anthony Gordon (1.31), who is the Premier League leader in this category ahead of Brighton & Hove Albion’s Tariq Lamptey (1.29).
Whether such contributions could translate into the more competitive environment of England remains to be seen and although Everton tried to snap up another wide man from Porto last summer (Luis Diaz, who ended up joining neighbours Liverpool in the January transfer window), the prospect of having to shell out what could be a club record purchase on a player seemingly already at the peak of his powers and with little potential of a significant sell-on fee when his time is done seems a big ask, especially when funds could now be limited and priority areas seem to lie elsewhere.
- Comparisonator is a football data comparison tool from 271 professional leagues around the world which compares players and clubs by utilising over 100 different parameters. Click here for more details.
