Mamelodi Sundowns made social media buzz in the announcement of Brazilian signing, Lucas Ribeiro Costa, so is he worth all the hype? Soccer Laduma finds out.
Ribeiro joined Sundowns as their third signing of the off-season, hailing from Belgian club SK Beveren, who are campaigning in the Challenger Pro League (Second Division) after the Tshwane giants also announced Lesiba Nku from Marumo Gallants and Junior Mendieta from Stellenbosch FC.
Read: Pirates Respond To Calls To Cancel Maccabi Clash
The reigning DStv Premiership champions announced Costa as a blockbuster signing in well-executed video clips of his arrival at the Airport and at Sundowns' base at Chloorkop.
So Who Is Costa?
The Brazilian first got introduced in Belgian football in the 2019/20 season after he joined Royal Excelsior Virton in the Challenger Pro League from French second division outfit Valenciennes.
In what became a theme of Costa's career, he has not played much topflight football anywhere else apart from the eight appearances he made for RSC Charleroi in the 2020/21 season.
Charleroi had bought him from Royal Excelsior Virton but the Brazilian, at age 21, could not get regular game time and was loaned out to the likes of RWDM, Mouscron and Beveren in the second division, before he had his best career season at Beveren last term, where he scored seven goals and got six assists in a regular campaign of 22 matches.
Costa scored a further four goals and assisted two goals, in 10 promotion play-offs, where Beveren missed out on promotion to the Jupiler Pro League by a point to RWDM.
The 24-year-old's stats at Beveren last season are similar to those posted by South Africa's Al Ahly forward Percy Tau in the Challenger Pro League in the 2018/19 season where he won the League Player of the Season award while he was on loan at Royale Union Saint Gilloise.
Tau scored six goals and had seven assists in that season for Royale Union and scored three goals and had four assists in the promotion play-offs, before he earned a big move to Club Brugge, on loan for the following campaign.
Read – Barns: It Was A Double Blow
Given that Costa is an attacking midfielder and not a forward like Tau, his goal-contribution from midfield seems to be what attracted him to Sundowns (and of course, other metrics they are privy to), whose game-model is dominated by midfield players as attackers more than having out-right centre forwards.
But after the Brazilian's struggles to compete in the Belgian Pro League, the question still remains, can he make the grade at Sundowns and the DStv Premiership?
You must be SIGNED IN to read and post comments.
