Tottenham Hotspur are set to bag themselves a Brazilian gem in the transfer market according to an expert on the South American game
Tottenham are set to sign Santos' highly-rated left-back Souza and South American football expert Tim Vickery believes the teenager has all the attributes to shine in the Premier League and is on the radar of Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti.
Spurs have agreed a £13million deal with Santos for the 19-year-old defender with Souza set to undergo his medical in the coming days after a season in which he made 29 senior appearances for the Brazilian outfit, starting most games and playing alongside Neymar as they battled against relegation.
As Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank has been indicating in recent weeks, the defender is set to be one for the now and future - long term solutions being short term ones. The Brazilian teenager will compete with Destiny Udogie on the left and eventually allow Djed Spence to compete with Pedro Porro on the right.
"Terrific business. I like him very much. He's a good left-back. Physically strong, skilful, a good footballer. He can defend, he can attack," Vickery said on talkSPORT.
"He's come through his first season which has been really difficult because Santos were fighting against relegation and it's a tough ask at Santos, because you've got all of that history and tradition of Pele but it's a club that represents a relatively small city in Brazil. They're really up against it but you've got all the demands, so it's a tough support base to play in front of and he's done really, really well.
"He obviously wants the move and Tottenham came in with eight million (initially), not nearly enough. Santos were relishing a little bit of an auction for him to push the price up. It seems he wants Tottenham and I would be very happy to see him come in. Maybe not immediately straight away but he's on Ancelotti's radar as a left-back for Brazil so I think he's very, very promising indeed."
Vickery also spoke to Sky Sports about Souza and emphasised the player's ability to remain out wide or operate in the more cluttered areas of the pitch.
"He’s very, very impressive. He’s only 19, left-back, physically strong, great footballer, versatile, attacks well. Can go on the outside, can cut inside as well," he said.
“Santos only avoided relegation in the last few days. The fans are so demanding and to have come through in his debut season, in a demanding environment, fighting against relegation and still doing very, very well indeed, that speaks volumes for him."