26 games, 77 Chances Created – Manchester United or Liverpool? Where Should This Magical Brazilian End Up?

Everton Ribeiro Scout Report

Brazil is a country gifted with footballing talent. They have been blessed with great players in almost all positions and the team is known for its attacking flair. There is one more player to add to the list of attacking midfielders playing for the Selecao, having just recently been called up to Carlos Dunga’s squad. Everton Ribeiro is an attacking midfielder for Brazilian club Cruzeiro, the 25 year old has been in scintillating form for the past two years and a whole host of clubs including Manchester United and Liverpool are after the talented Brazilian’s signature but who is he? Read on to find out more.

Career History

Everton Ribeiro was born in 1989 in the city of Aruja in Sau Paolo. As with many Brazilians, he started off his career with the giants Corinthians, Everton made only a handful of appearances from 2007 for the club and was loaned to Sao Caetano. Spending a couple of years at the club and honing his skills, he then got a move to Cortiba; this is where he started to shine. With his stock value rising he was then signed by Cruzeiro in 2013 and this is where he hit the high notes which got him a call for the Brazilian national team.

He won the Brazilian Serie A in 2013 and was adjudged to be the best player not only in his position but also in the entire Brazilian league. He was also included into the team of the year for 2013. There were rumours of him wanting to join Manchester United in 2013 but nothing fruitful happened. This year he has an average pass accuracy of 79% and has created 77 chances in just 26 games for Cruzeiro.

Thanks to his brilliant performances for the club, he was called to play in two international friendlies for the national team, playing against Colombia and Ecuador in September.

Playing style

His strength is playing either from the right and cutting inside onto the left foot, often he plays down the middle as a threatening attacking midfielder. He has a great first touch and can pick a pass to create chances for the strikers to score. A Brazilian who has a great reading of the game is not uncommon and Everton Ribeiro is no different.

If there is a weakness to his game, it is his slight physique which means that he can often be bullied by other defenders. There also is a need for the player to brush up on his finishing skills and has very little defensive duties currently at Cruzeiro, which would not work for some of the larger clubs in Europe.

Possible destination – Manchester United or Liverpool?

With both Liverpool and Manchester United vying for his signature, it would be a tough choice for the Brazilian to make. Going to Manchester would make sense since the only real attacking threat the club has on the wings is Angel Di Maria, Everton would face some competition from Ashley Young and Juan Mata but would probably make the team easily. Liverpool might not be a preferred destination since there are plenty of other players at Merseyside who are very similar to the Brazilian star. It is just a question of Van Gaal rating the Brazilian enough to make a move or he could play in red but of Liverpool.