Portuguese colony? After centre-back, São Paulo eye versatile full-back | OneFootball

São Paulo have begun formal talks to sign 29-year-old right-back Aurélio Buta.

Available on the market after the end of his contract with Copenhagen of Denmark, where he was on loan from Germany’s Frankfurt, the defender came onto the club hierarchy’s radar after receiving a favorable assessment and approval from the club’s market analysis department and coaching staff.

The progress of the talks indicates that São Paulo’s football leadership sees the deal as a strategic market opportunity.

Because the player is currently without a club, Tricolor will not need to spend money to acquire his economic rights, focusing its financial planning strictly on a signing bonus and salary terms.

Profile and tactical versatility

Born in Miconge, Angola, and naturalized Portuguese, Buta built his entire professional career in European football.

Developed in Benfica’s youth ranks, the full-back gained international recognition while playing for Royal Antwerp of Belgium, where he turned professional and performed well enough to earn a move to Germany’s Eintracht Frankfurt, before his most recent spell in Danish football.

The main factor that attracted the interest of the coaching staff led by Dorival Júnior is the player’s versatility. Originally a right-back, Buta has the physical and technical qualities to perform multiple roles on the pitch:

Right wing-back: Providing attacking support in tactical systems with three center-backs;

Winger (right wing): Playing in more advanced attacking lines;

Right center-back: Helping build play from the back in a three-man defensive line.

Status of the talks

Negotiations between São Paulo’s board and the representatives of the Portuguese-Angolan player are still ongoing, with no final outcome yet.

The viability of the deal depends on whether the demands regarding contract length and monthly wages can be adjusted to fit within the club’s financial ceiling.

If the deal is finalized, Aurélio Buta will arrive to strengthen the position and offer important structural variations for the remainder of the season’s competitions.

The news of the talks with Buta comes on the same day that Tricolor moved closer to signing another Portuguese player, center-back Domingos Duarte.

Meanwhile, the squad’s current Portuguese representative, right-back Cédric Soares, is set to leave Morumbi after not even rejoining the rest of the squad for training.

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