Training at Barra Funda, Paulinho eager for São Paulo senior debut | OneFootball

Amid the lack of options for the attacking sector, São Paulo’s coach, Hernán Crespo, decided to give young Paulinho a chance. The youth team striker from the under-20 squad has been training with the professionals, was included in the squad for the match against Mirassol last Sunday, and is now eagerly awaiting his debut for the main Tricolor team.

Paulinho was named the best player in this year’s Copinha final, which São Paulo won. The striker scored two goals in the 3-2 victory over Corinthians in the final, but after that, he did not find space with coach Luis Zubeldía in the professional squad, unlike Lucas Ferreira, Matheus Alves, and Ryan Francisco.

The match against Mirassol was Paulinho’s fourth time being included in the professional squad for São Paulo. The striker was also on the bench for the match against Botafogo-SP in the Paulista Championship, Talleres in the Libertadores, and Bahia in the Brasileirão.

Currently, São Paulo does not have any center-forwards available in its squad. Calleri, André Silva, and Ryan Francisco are recovering from serious knee injuries and are still expected to be out for some time.

Hernán Crespo even tried to solve the problem by adopting a tactical scheme that did not depend on a center-forward, but São Paulo’s performance without a reference man in the box has been poor.

Of course, Paulinho is still young and should not bear the burden of solving the crisis the club is going through. The problem is not just the lack of a “number 9”, but it’s undeniable that some “new blood” could help São Paulo react in this final stretch of the season.

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