Striker eyes Corinthians spot after Ceará success, wants to impress | OneFootball

After scoring 17 goals and providing two assists in 45 matches while on loan at Ceará during the 2025 season, striker Pedro Raul has reported back and returned to Corinthians, looking to turn things around and show coach Dorival Júnior that he deserves to stay at the club for the 2026 season.

With the absence of strikers Yuri Alberto (traveling in Italy to resolve matters related to his Italian citizenship) and Memphis Depay (working on physical conditioning inside the Dr. Joaquim Grava Training Center) during the first days of training, the player may get some minutes in the opening matches of the Campeonato Paulista.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

Spanish center-forward Héctor Hernández, signed in mid-2024 and sidelined from the squad since August 2025, remains out of the coaching staff's plans and is training separately until he potentially finds a new club. His contract with the Alvinegro ends in December 2026.

Because of this, the striker may get a chance to start next Sunday (11th), at 4pm (Brasília time), at Neo Química Arena, for the debut of the 2026 Campeonato Paulista. At the moment, the following players are available to the coaching staff in the attacking sector: Pedro Raul, Gui Negão, Dieguinho, Vitinho, and Kayke.

On the other hand, those who left Parque São Jorge at the turn of the year were the strikers Talles Magno, whose loan contract was not renewed with New York City, USA, and Ángel Romero – whose contract ended and who had already lost his place with Dorival Júnior since his arrival at the club in late April.

Pedro Raul was signed by Corinthians in February 2024 from Toluca, Mexico, for five million dollars (R$ 25 million). In his only season wearing the Corinthians shirt so far, the center-forward was unable to deliver the expected performance under coaches Mano Menezes, Antônio Oliveira, and Ramón Díaz.

The center-forward even started 2025 at Corinthians, amid squad rotation at the beginning of the last Paulistão, but continued with lackluster performances. As a result, he was loaned to Ceará soon after. In total, he scored four goals and provided two assists in 39 games (14 as a starter) for the Alvinegro.

Despite reports of possible interest from Internacional according to media outlets from Rio Grande do Sul, the center-forward is expected to remain at Parque São Jorge at least at the start of the season. His last match for Corinthians was on February 15, 2025, in a 2-2 draw against Portuguesa at Pacaembu, during the final stretch of the group stage of that year's Paulistão.

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