São Paulo eye Arboleda replacement: meet Willyan Rocha, watch him | OneFootball

That Arboleda should no longer play for São Paulo, everyone already knows. The fans’ main question is: does the Morumbi club intend to sign someone to replace the Ecuadorian?

Well, the answer is yes. And according to what AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR has learned, the name is an old acquaintance, at least for the scouting department: Willyan Rocha. Know him? If not, let us introduce him.

This 31-year-old from Rio de Janeiro has never played professionally for a major club in Brazilian football. Developed in Flamengo’s youth system, he also spent time at Grêmio and played on loan for Desportiva Capixaba and Votuporanguense before establishing a career abroad, with spells in Portugal and Russia before arriving at Al-Jazira, in Qatar, in August 2025. There in Asia, he made 21 appearances and recorded one assist (see some of his highlights for the team below).

Rocha’s name was on São Paulo’s radar at least two other times. In 2022, before he transferred to CSKA in Russia, he was offered to the Morumbi club by agents. The following year, with the war in Ukraine, there was talk of him being loaned to Tricolor, which instead chose to sign Alan Franco.

On both occasions, the center-back’s ability to play the ball out from the back was highlighted as a strength. And this is indeed reflected in some lineups, especially during his time at CSKA, when he was even deployed as a defensive midfielder,

This time, the player has gained an ally in his move to Morumbi: coach Roger Machado, who knows him and approved the name.

According to the report, the player wants to return to Brazilian football, and inquiries have been made by Tricolor, which has not yet officially opened more concrete talks. For now, the biggest obstacle is the possible fee to be paid to Al-Jazira for his release, since Rocha has an estimated market value of US$4 million (around R$20 million). As everyone knows, money has not exactly been abundant on São Paulo’s side.

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