Why Brighton should pursue an interest in Palmeiras attacker Dudu
Eduardo Pereira, commonly known as Dudu, is currently one of the high-profile names in the Brazilian league. A youth product of Cruzeiro, Eduardo joined Dynamo Kyiv in 2011 but he was loaned back to Brazilian club Gremio after failing to make an impact in Ukraine. However, he has reached new heights since making a move to his current club Palmeiras in 2015.
Dudu had a successful debut season at Palmeiras where he accumulated 10 goals and 7 assists, and the 26-year-old hasn’t looked back since then. He has been in tremendous form this year, amassing 7 goals and 14 assists from 31 appearances in the Brazilian Serie A.
Dudu, who has three international caps for Brazil at the senior level, enjoyed his most productive season at the club level and a move to Europe might take his career to the next level.
Standing at just a shade over 5ft 5in, Dudu is a technically-gifted and a tactically versatile attacker who is capable of tormenting the opposition with his pace, skills, agility and vision. Essentially a left-winger by trade, the 26-year-old has also been deployed as a playmaker through the centre and as a wide forward down either flank.
Dudu’s playing style is similar to that of Bernard. Much like the Everton man, Dudu is not capable of stamping his authority with his physicality but he makes up for it with his wonderful technique and envious skill set. His low centre-of-gravity combined with his technique allows him to keep exceptional close control in tight areas.
The Brazilian has a good turn of pace and his instant acceleration coupled with his ability to change direction in the blink of an eye makes him a nightmare for the defenders. He knows how to create his own space in the wide areas and his powerful right foot is more than capable of finding the net after cutting inside. Furthermore, he is a dynamic wide playmaker who has an incredible vision to light up the scene with a moment of brilliance.
To put things into perspective, he would be an excellent buy for Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion. The Seagulls currently sit 13th in the Premier League standings with 21 points from 17 games and Chris Hughton’s men need some extra firepower in their attack to boost their chances of a top-ten finish.
While much of the goal-scoring burden has been shouldered by Glenn Murray, Solly March and Anthony Knockaert have done a good job down the flanks. Mega money summer recruit Alireza Jahanbakhsh has failed to make an impact while Jurgen Locadia has fallen out of favour. And Brighton have badly missed the services of Pascal Gross who has spent a long time on the sidelines.
Brighton have shown plenty of promise and someone like Dudu can contribute a lot to the team with his tactical awareness and playmaking ability.
That said, the Seagulls should start keeping tabs on the Brazilian as he has all the attributes to emerge as a marquee signing at the Amex Stadium.