Jefté joins as a prospect, eyes 2026 spot alongside Piquerez | OneFootball

Since August, Jefté has been wearing the Palmeiras jersey. The left-back was signed during the mid-year transfer window to fill the gap left by the absence of a substitute for Piquerez. At 21 years old, Jefté made his debut as a professional player in the Brazilian league, and although he has played few games, he plans to become the expected "shadow" for the starter.

Jefté was trained in Fluminense's youth academy and left Brazil for Cyprus while still playing in the youth categories. Needing to replenish the squad, with the departures of Caio Paulista (loaned to Atlético-MG) and Vanderlan (sold to Red Bull Bragantino), Palmeiras sought Jefté from Rangers in Scotland and signed a contract until 2030.

The left-back experienced his first minutes on the field wearing the Palmeiras jersey in a 3-0 victory over Sport, during the 21st round of the Brasileirão. On that occasion, he came off the bench at the 45th minute of the second half, replacing Piquerez. His first chance as a starter was in the 24th round, in a 4-1 win over Fortaleza.

This match took place between the quarter-finals of the Libertadores, and Abel decided to rest the team, fielding a reserve lineup. In his first chance among the starting eleven, he showed better performance supporting the team offensively and provided an assist for a goal by Andreas Pereira.

In total, he played 13 games, seven as a starter, and provided three assists. The last two of these were in victories against Atlético-MG (3-0) and Ceará (3-1), which were Palmeiras' last games of the year. Additionally, he made 12 key passes, created three big chances, and had an 86.6% pass accuracy. During this period, he suffered five dribbles.

With Piquerez firmly in the starting position, Jefté aims to establish himself at Palmeiras in 2026 to compete for the spot with the Uruguayan. Both will report back to the Football Academy on January 4th along with the rest of the squad for the pre-season.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.