Brazil legend Roberto Carlos has lavished praise on a ‘top-level’ Tottenham Hotspur youngster who was packed off on loan during the summer transfer window, after becoming surplus to requirements by Roberto De Zerbi.
The Italian made a conscious effort to add more Premier League experience to his defensive line over the summer, landing the likes of Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi, Jan Paul van Hecke and Martin Dubravka.
The addition of Robertson in particular enabled Tottenham to cash in on wantaway England star Djed Spence, with the 32-year-old forming a tandem with Destiny Udogie in the left-back position.
That left Brazilian talent Souza out in the cold as a result, with the 20-year-old having arrived from Brazilian side Santos in January in a £13million deal.
At the time of signing, then Spurs boss Thomas Frank stated that the club believed they had “bought one of the brightest left-back talents in the world who can give us something now but also for the future”.
However, Souza only managed to chalk up four first-team appearances, having swapped one relegation battle in Brazil for another in England.
Illness then interrupted the defender’s pre-season and he was ultimately left out of De Zerbi’s tour squad for the trip to New Zealand and Australia, in order to build his fitness back up.
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Souza surplus to requirements at Tottenham
And with Robertson and Udogie ahead of him in the pecking order, De Zerbi gave the green light for the talented youngster to head out on loan to Portuguese outfit Porto.
While Souza has yet to make his debut for Porto, injuries look set to hand him that chance soon, with boss Francesco Farioli reportedly working with the young defender on the training pitches to adapt him to his system. Indeed, Porto are set to play Deportivo La Coruna in a friendly on Friday and the Spurs man is expected to feature.
And, having been asked about Souza at the Portugal Football Summit this week, former Real Madrid star Roberto Carlos made it abundantly clear that he believes all the hype in his homeland about the Tottenham starlet will eventually be realised.
“I don’t like to make comparisons. He came to Porto because he has quality. He’s a player who played extremely well at Santos, it was a great signing,” said the 53-year-old as reported by O Jogo.
“I’m absolutely certain that he will deliver what is expected of him on the field, he’s a top-level player.”
Tottenham will be hoping that Souza is handed significant game time for the rest of the season, in order to develop, return to the club and then challenge for a starting role in 2026/27.