Chelsea-bound Lucas Piazon (“the new Kaka”)

Over the Christmas period Roman Abramovich signalled his renewed interest in Chelsea after a brief hiatus. In his rush to save Chelsea’s stuttering season he pulled out his cannon and began firing his bank notes at the rest of the Premier League. With the Pensioners short term future more secure the Russian is turning to the future and seeking young players to replace the ageing triumvirate of Terry, Lampard and Drogba.
If today’s reports are to be believed Chelsea think that they may have found the ideal candidate to fill Lampard’s big boots in Sao Paulo’s 17-year-old attacking midfielder Lucas Piazon. A pre contract agreement is close to being completed with the player, and a fee which could rise to £10 million has been agreed. That is a lot of money for a 17-year-old who has yet to appear at a senior level for his club.
As with many young starlets Piazon came to the fore at an international tournament. At the tender age of 15 he exploded into the reckoning of many scouts with his outstanding displays for Brazil in the 2009 South American U-15 Championship. Where he scored 10 goals and was the tournaments top scorer.
He followed this with great performances in the U-15 Nike Cup held at Old Trafford, where he captained Sao Paulo to winning the competition and being awarded Player of the Tournament.
Piazon has been compared by many to his illustrious compatriot Kaka who also began his career at Sao Paulo (both stand at 5ft 11 inches). They possess a similarly languid running style and are most dangerous on the counter attack. The youngster’s ball control is good, he likes to drive at defenders and is able to beat them either by fleet of foot or his array of obligatory step-overs.
The youngster’s preferred position, and the one where is arguably most dangerous, is right behind the strikers, where he has got the space to weave his magic but he can be used all across the midfield or as a striker.  His versatility has seen former Brazil Under-17 coach Lucho Nizzo describes Piazon as one of the best he has seen.
Although Piazon’s potential is undoubted a word of caution is needed. At 17 years old he is still early in his development and many have failed to reach the heady heights that were predicted for them. Kerlon starred in the 2005 South American Under-17 Championships, six years later he is still struggling to get his senior career off the ground.

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