With Wolverhampton Wanderers edging ever closer to getting a deal over the line for Estoril Praia winger Chiquinho, Aaron Barton and Filipe Melo have all you need to know about the talented 21-year-old.
Chiquinho is a player who has certainly developed a taste for winning early in his career. Last season, he split his playing time between Estoril’s first team (16 appearances) and Estoril’s U23 side (16 appearances). The end result? He won the Liga with both teams! Estoril won the Segunda Liga, gaining promotion to the top flight in the process and Estoril U23 won the Liga Revelação. He was also able to add a third trophy to his collection, winning the Taça Revelação with the U23 team.
This season, with Estoril promoted to the Primeira Liga, the Cascais-born winger is experiencing his first season in top flight football and it is safe to say he is thoroughly enjoying himself. Tricky, dynamic and full of energy, Chiquinho already has 20 appearances under his belt this season across all competitions, contributing four goals and six assists in the process.
The following is an excerpt taken from an upcoming article on Proxima-Jornada.com, titled 22 Players to Look Out For in 2022
Chiquinho, especially in 1v1 situations, is almost unstoppable. He is comfortable playing with either with his left or right foot, allowing him to show versatility in his attacks and keep the opposing full-backs guessing. His ability to get into the right areas as well as possessing the creativity to make chances for himself allows him to score a decent number of goals each season. So far this season he is averaging just over 2.25 shots per game and is outperforming his xG, with 3 Primeira Liga goals from an xG of 2.10. Composure in front of goal is a part of his game that is getting better and better with each match and something that will continue to improve over time.
In terms of speed and acceleration, not many players can keep up with him in the Primeira Liga. If he operates on the right-hand side of the pitch, he will often look to beat the opposing defender and create space for a cross, something which tends to happen more when he’s on the pitch with Rui Fonte, Estoril’s central striker. If he plays on the opposite flank, Chiquinho will make movements to come inside with the ball as opposed to going to the byline, often drifting centrally and looking to play closer to goal, either to play a pass to a team mate or engineer a shot on goal for himself.
So far this season, Chiquinho has demonstrated that what he was doing last season in Segunda Liga, he can do even better in the Portuguese top flight.
Our full article, 22 Players to Look Out For In 2022 will be out next week, make sure to check it out!
