If Shakhtar is really ready to pay 16 million euros for Kevin, this is what it means

Since Romano himself assures that Shakhtar is one step away from signing the Brazilian winger Kevin, we believe. And we think what it means to acquire a boy born in 2003, who scored only one goal in adult football, for an amount of up to 16 million euros. If you look at this expected transfer from this angle, the situation is clearly not without novelty.

So is this a new Neymar coming to us, or is Shakhtar in the money again? Sports Arena examines the main trends and patterns that this hypothetical transfer entails.

First, Brazil is very hot

It was in the 2000s that Dynamo and Shakhtar were able to acquire club world champions, world youth champions, real candidates for the Brazilian national team for relatively little money. The Brazilian market is incredibly hot right now. 5 of the 10 most expensive sales in the history of Brazilian football happened in the last five years (15 of the 25 records too).

Now 18-year-old Endrik is on sale for more than 35 million euros. 20 years ago, even the slightly older Kaka was acquired by Milan for almost five times cheaper. And this was already the current world champion among adults and at the adult level he had scored as many goals as the same Endrik at the youth level.

In the 2000s, there was a certain decline in Brazilian football – Brazil has not been successful at the World Cup since 2002, the European Union has stricter entry rules for foreign players, in the local Brasileiro Serie A, salaries have increased and they are trying to retain players a little longer. Now the top transfers of Neymar, Vini Junior and other representatives of the new generation have attracted interest in such Endricks and Kevins.

But what’s the difference?

In the 2000s, Shakhtar and Porto scouted the Brazilian market well and were noticeable “big fish” there, but now Real and other super-clubs no longer want to overpay intermediary clubs and are prowling overseas tournaments themselves. Hence the price warming up. After all, if the real Real Madrid (Madrid) had not applied for Endrick, offers from conditional Porto, Benfica or Shakhtar would have been much more attractive.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has rapidly become poorer

If in the 2000s throwing out 25 million euros for Bernard was realistic for Shakhtar, now Kevin’s transfer (10-11 million euros plus bonuses) looks like the top one for the UPL in the last 2-3 years. Look at the record sales of Brazilian clubs. For some of them, Marcelo Moreno at Shakhtar still remains the top one in history! But if previously the Brazilian-Bolivian was a run-of-the-mill newcomer for the Pitmen compared to Ferna, Douglas Costa, Willian or Luis Adriano, now Kevin will become a big deal. The biggest since Pedrinho.

In the UPL, most transfers still occur as free agents. 1.5 – 3 million euros is a fairly significant transfer for the modern domestic championship. But Shakhtar is not satisfied with this.

As the example of Lukas, Jurasek, the partly new Pedrinho, Eguinaldo, Castillo shows, for sustainable success not only in European competition, but even in the Ukrainian championship, you need a tangible advantage in class. Previously, the triangle Douglas Costa – Mkhitaryan – Willian could destroy any defense of the prime UPL. Later, Tyson, Moraes and Marlos “burned themselves out” in class, also making a difference on the field. Now there are no such killers in the class in any UPL club.

Since a direct ticket to the group stage of the Champions League has become history, it’s time to buy a really cool newcomer. So as not to expect stable progress from him, like from Neverton and Kelsey, but to get a tangible advantage now.

But can 21-year-old Kevin, who has played 11 senior matches, make a difference like Tyson, Marlos or Ferna?

The miner takes risks

And here we return to the original statements. If Shakhtar used to be a “big fish” on the Brazilian market and could afford the leaders of almost any Brasileiro Serie A team, now it is no longer the case. Moreover, out of the ten most expensive cars in the local championship, not a single Ukrainian club will be able to buy a single one.

Hence the natural risk

Now Shakhtar has to poke around with the Kevins, Eginalds, and Nevertons. All that remains is to rely on the strength and consistency of their scouting service, and the Pitmen’s selection is indeed still in class. After all, with obvious constraints on funds, Shakhtar acquired a number of sportingly promising players after the start of the full-scale phase of the big war. Entering the budget without harming sports prospects is an achievement.

We don’t know what prospects Kevin has. At the adult level, he actually played very little. It is also impossible to understand how this young guy will behave at the first shelling and sirens, which he will see and hear with his own eyes, and not on television news. Or how it will withstand our winter. Or how to cope with the pace of European Cup football.

But Shakhtar should be praised for what it is looking for. And not only, by the way, in Brazil – the market is open in Venezuela, Ecuador, and even Georgia. While our other clubs buy foreign players on the secondary market – in Slovakia, Belarus, Slovenia, Denmark, the Netherlands, knowingly overpaying for them, Donetsk scouts are looking deeper. Therefore, they can afford to take more risks, in the end.

Timofey Gryfluk