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Evanilson: Can Porto striker replace Dominic Solanke's goals at Bournemouth?
Bournemouth were given a huge task just days before the Premier League season began.
Dominic Solanke's transfer to Spurs left a significant gap in their squad. His 19 goals last season made Andoni Iraola's men top half challengers - they need to replace that to come close to a repeat this time around.
Evanilson is seen as the ideal replacement, joining from Porto for £40m.
The Brazilian, who has played in Portugal since 2020, has commanded quite the fee. A big fee for a big task - is he the one to successfully lead the Cherries' forward line?
Evanilson came through the youth ranks at Brazilian club Fluminense, who also produced talents such as Marcelo, Thiago Silva and Brighton's João Pedro, before joining Porto in 2020.
While in Portugal, the forward has scored 60 goals and contributed 21 assists in 154 appearances, winning the league once and the Portuguese cup three times.
Last season he was the club's top goalscorer with 17 in Liga Portugal and the Champions League, boasting an average of 0.53 goal contributions (goals + assists) per game - Dominic Solanke sat on 0.50 in England.
The striker's creative talents being just as strong as his finishing will offer huge encouragement to the Cherries' hierarchy.
It is this combination of creation and finishing that will help the 24-year-old should he move to the Vitality Stadium, with the onus on the co-operation of the front three rather than reliance on a single goalscorer.
Iraola aims for a trio which consists of a strong central striker, who not only looks to score but can also set up chances to a pair of gifted, pacy wingers - most often Luis Sinisterra and Justin Kluivert.
The flair and speed that Evanilson possesses means that he can both spring counter-attacks alongside breaking through defensive lines from his own half with pace, but his physicality will be called into question.
Solanke's time at Bournemouth was characterised by his strength on the half-turn, combined with his clinical finishing.
His strength to hold off Daiki Hashioka, before receiving the ball to shoot, is what led to his goal that kick-started Bournemouth's 4-3 comeback against Luton in March.
Hey Siri, define outrageous pic.twitter.com/BrPc9Q53Cb
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) March 14, 2024
Last season in the Premier League, he won 2.65 aerial duels per 90 mins, scoring four headed goals.
If Evanilson wants to hit the ground running in England he will have to improve on his sole headed goal in last year's league campaign and his 1.39 aerial duels won per 90.
The cliché for strikers joining the Premier League for the first time is their struggle to adapt to the physicality of the defenders.
The Brazilian may have to hit the gym if he wants to stand a chance against the pacy giants of Virgil van Dijk and Micky van de Ven, who will be able match his own speed.
Evanilson also played a regular part in Porto's recent Champions League campaigns - although he hasn't provided any goal contributions in his eight games against English sides.
While Bournemouth don't have any European football to contend with, fans will be reassured to know that he only missed seven games through injury in 23/24, despite the addition workload of midweek action.
This will set him up nicely for the typical demand of the English football schedule that results in a Carabao Cup fixture on a (here comes the cliché) cold night in Stoke...or West Ham as the second round draw recently handed them.
Que noite! 🤩🤩🤩 Muito feliz pela vitória e pelo HAT-TRICK na @ChampionsLeague ! 💙🙏🏽🐉 Vamos @FCPorto 💙💙 pic.twitter.com/MGHWeme3dK
— Evanilson (@evanilsonlima99) October 25, 2023
The striker's performances in Europe caught the eye of the Brazil national team and in June he made his debut against Mexico in a friendly.
He was then selected for his nation's Copa America squad, although he played a largely benchwarmer role, making just one appearance in the loss to Uruguay at the quarter-finals stage.
Regardless of his nation's performance this summer, it's clear that this is a player who is still in the early stages of his career but has adapted to European football.
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