The Basics
Age: 23
Club: Valencia
Nation: Portugal
Position: Midfielder
Footed: Right
Under contract until: 2028
Almeida was born in Guimarães and joined the academy of his local club, Vitória S.C., which is now part-owned by Villa’s owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, as a nine-year-old.
He made his debut for the Vitória B team as a 16-year-old, and then made his first team debut three years later.
The midfielder made 72 appearances in total for Vitória, scoring three goals, before moving to Valencia last summer for around £6.5million.
His debut season in La Liga was impressive in a struggling team. Almeida scored twice and provided four assists in 34 appearances.
Almeida has represented Portugal at youth level, making 11 appearances for the under-21s.
The Links
Mail Sport reported back in April that Villa were “keeping a watchful eye” on Almeida.
The Scouting Report
Strengths
Positionally, Almeida shows the ability to play in multiple roles. He often starts as a number 10 for Valencia but roams around, popping up near the touchlines or forming a front two with a striker. He can be trusted to drop into a true central midfield role and be disciplined.
Almeida has technical quality which is most evident in his dribbling. He shows impressive close control, shifting the ball quickly and tempting defenders in before making his escape.
He has the body control to stop and start quickly, twisting and turning to evade pressure and jinking past defenders. Almeida ranks in the 86th percentile for progressive carries and the 91st for successful take-ons compared to midfielders in the ‘Big 5’ European leagues.
Passes from Almeida are well-weighted and out in front of his teammates, which in the final third allows wide players to deliver the ball into the penalty area without breaking stride. He looks to slide, or scoop passes to his teammates in and around the penalty area.
Almeida can tease crosses in from deeper positions and also takes set pieces. He ranks in the 85th percentile for progressive passes.
There are positive aspects to Almeida’s game in a defensive sense, as he at times shows the eagerness to chase ball-carriers down, pressure them and make tackles. The midfielder ranks in the 66th percentile for tackles at his position.
He tracks back to the edge of his own penalty area and covers for teammates when they are out of position.
Weaknesses
For the quality that Almeida clearly has, he doesn’t impact games enough. His career-high for goals in a season is two, and much of the good work he does in terms of passing or dribbling happens too far away from goal. He ranks in the 32nd percentile for non-penalty xG.
There is an inconsistency to his passing. They can often be way off target, especially when he tries more progressive passes. Almeida ranks in the 31st percentile for pass accuracy.
He lacks the extra bit of pace needed to really worry defenders or run past them.
Although there are encouraging elements to his defensive work, he can equally be very passive at times, strolling around the pitch. He ranks in the 22nd percentile for interceptions and blocks, and the 14th percentile for clearances.
At 5’8”, he isn’t the most physical player either. Almeida’s aerial duel win rate ranks in the 11th percentile.
Fit With Villa
Almeida might be more of a future target than an immediate one, given that his contract runs until 2028 and he’s only been at Valencia a year. He may need another season in La Liga before making a move to the Premier League.
At Villa he would be able to play in at multiple positions, providing competition as a false striker, a wide midfielder, as well as a central midfielder, and he has the tools to develop into an effective and versatile player.
His lack of size would obviously be something to overcome, and adaptation to the English game could take some time from a physicality standpoint.
Similar Players
The ten closest statistical comparisons to Almeida, according to FBREF, are:
- Thomas Lemar – Atlético Madrid
- Himad Abdelli – Angers
- Álvaro Aguado – Valladolid
- Sergi Darder – Espanyol
- Alex Iwobi – Everton
- Bruno Guimarães – Newcastle United
- Ismaël Bennacer – Milan
- Mateo Kovačić – Chelsea
- Sandro Tonali – Milan
- Nicolò Barella – Internazionale
Iwobi and Bennacer could be viable alternatives if Villa want someone with a similar profile to Almeida but with more experience.
Transfer Targets Series
The Villa Ramble 
Leave a comment