Lautaro Díaz impresses as he makes bright start at Santos | OneFootball

In the last transfer window, Santos completed their squad overhaul and signed eight new players. The center forward Lautaro Díaz joined the club as one of the less hyped reinforcements, but he has been showing on the field why he was signed.

Lautaro Díaz was signed on loan from Cruzeiro and signed with Santos until July 31, 2026. The forward arrived with initial skepticism from the fans, as he had little playing time at Cruzeiro and hadn't scored since May this year.

The Argentine, however, was not discouraged and worked hard. The athlete seems to have gained the trust of coach Juan Pablo Vojvoda, who gave him a starting position in his first game for Santos – Lautaro was in the starting 11 and played about 80 minutes against Atlético-MG, in the Brazilian Championship.

From then on, Lautaro permanently took on the starting position and began to occupy the role of Santos' number 9. The player's early trajectory has been quite positive: he contributed with two goals and one assist in four matches played.

Against Red Bull Bragantino, for example, the Argentine took on a leading role and was crucial for Santos to secure a draw. The Peixe fell behind on the scoreboard, but Lautaro found the net and leveled the score. He also delivered a great pass for Barreal to score the winning goal. In the end, the team ended up conceding a draw.

Beyond the numbers, the Argentine has stood out for his movement on the field. When introduced by Santos at the beginning of September, Lautaro had already explained that he is a player of speed and great mobility, as he started his career playing as a winger.

In the draw against Grêmio last Wednesday, the center forward also showed opportunism and scored Santos' equalizing goal from a rebound. He shot twice towards the goal and missed a great chance, but redeemed himself by leveling the score in the final minutes of the match.

Lautaro's Good Start Brings Relief to Santos

Lautaro Díaz's good start with the Santos jersey brings, in a way, relief to the club. The Peixe had been struggling with Tiquinho Soares' goal drought, who was signed at the start of the season but has been inconsistent and hasn't delivered as expected.

Tiquinho also had a good moment with the Peixe jersey shortly after his arrival at the club, but couldn't maintain consistency. The number 9 went five months without finding the net and only broke the drought in September this year, by converting a penalty against Atlético-MG.

It remains to be seen now if Lautaro Díaz can maintain consistency to continue as the center forward that Santos needs, something Tiquinho has not yet achieved. The competition, in fact, could end up being beneficial for both center forwards.

Lautaro Díaz's Numbers for Santos

Santos' Situation in the Brazilian Championship

With the draw against Grêmio, Santos remains on the brink of the relegation zone. Juan Pablo Vojvoda's team is in 16th place, with 28 points, three more than Vitória, which opens the Z4. The gap narrowed with the victory of the Bahia team over Ceará, 1-0, last Thursday.

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