Breaking down who is Joelson Fernandes

Here’s a breakdown on what Arsenal would get in Joelson Fernandes

With the transfer window now in full swing, we are as ever expectant for Arsenal and Mikel Arteta to add players to the team who can help us move forward and improve upon our poor league season in 2019/20. So far we are going about our business slowly, with plenty of names linked but only Willian looking like the only imminent arrival in the coming days.

One of the first names we were linked with this summer was the 17-year-old Sporting Lisbon winger Joelson Fernandes. Currently, it’s a deal that is seemingly operating under the radar but is rumoured to be gathering a lot of pace over the last few days. Fernandes is a player who has been attracting serious interest from clubs all over Europe such is the hype of the youngster, but who is Joelson Fernandes and what type of player would we be getting?

Sporting have had a host of youngsters come through the ranks over the last few years ago who haven’t hit the stratospheric heights of Ronaldo, but with Fernandes, there seems to be a genuine buzz around the club that he could be the next big thing in Europe.

Whilst at this stage it’s a very unrealistic comparison and unfair to put such a label on any player but their styles are very similar. Fernandes is a raw talent with a phenomenal pace and is equally adept at playing on the left or right wing.

He is direct with quick feet and has a sharp eye for goal. He has only recently made his first-team debut for Sporting but anyone who has seen footage of his career in the youth team will understand why the hype is justified.

His agent is Kia Joorabchian

Kia Joorabchian seems to be more and more of a prominent figure around Arsenal currently due to his close relationship with Edu. Whilst many people have seen this as a negative thing due to his seemingly growing influence at the club Joorabchian does have some top players on his books.

He seems to be using Arsenal as the first option when it comes to transfers and we have a history of signing his clients with Cedric joining Arsenal in January. This summer we have been linked with 2 more in Phillipe Coutinho and Willian. Joorabchian is rumoured to be the driving force in getting a deal for Joelson Fernandes over the line and this should maybe give us the edge should any other club join the hunt for him.

Would he be a good signing for Arsenal? 

There’s always a huge element of risk when signing a youngster from abroad and his 45 million euro release clause is a massive figure to pay for someone who is unproven and only just broken into first-team football.

When you consider the financial restraints at the club, if we were to sign Fernandes for that sort of figure there would be huge pressure on him from the get-go. The transfer fee is rumoured to be a stumbling block we are facing currently and we are currently trying to negotiate that figure down.

Arteta is rumoured to be a big fan of the youngster and is interested in bringing him to the club. The signing of Fernandes would have to go down as one for the future though as it would be a big ask for him to hit the ground running. He is however the type of player who looks like someone who could fit into the team in the future and adapt easily to our style of play.