Fernando Reges "The Octopus"

The White Pele

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Could he be our primary transfer target for January to add some steel to the midfield?

We were linked with him in the papers in October and David Moyes was at the Atletico-Porto match tonight amid some recent speculation of interest from other clubs, including Juventus.

Obligatory YouTube video:



I couldn't find an existing thread.
 
He certainly looks quite good, in the last year of his contract, so could get lured on the cheap.

The thing is Phil Jones is doing great as our DM (with Fellaini as his sub), so not sure if we need to add more steel... a world-class (or soon to be) box to box would be the ideal january buy.
 
If we are indeed interested and we buy him, that could give Jones the chance to move back to CB and Carrick to become a bigger force in our attack.
 
George Owen said:
He certainly looks quite good, in the last year of his contract, so could get lured on the cheap.

The thing is Phil Jones is doing great as our DM (with Fellaini as his sub), so not sure if we need to add more steel... a world-class (or soon to be) box to box would be the ideal january buy.
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One of each would be fine.
 
So I take it he is a midfield player. Looks like a decent defensive option based on that first youtube clip. Likes to get stuck in at least. Looked ok with the ball as well at times, but I'm sure others know more about his technical ability. How often does he get booked/sent off?

Would he actually be an improvement over what jones is currently doing in midfield though? Or would it basically be a case of grabbing him on the cheap potentially as a back up for DM.
 
On the youtube clip i saw he looked great, but I have to take into consideration that it's a youtube clip, and he might not be consistently so good.
No one seem to know much about him so far, so for now it's just another "possible gem".
 
With Jones, and to a lesser extent Fellaini, we already have that steel in midfield, certainty enough to get us to summer. My main concern is that without Carrick we don't have a midfielder capable of passing the ball forward, we need that positive midfielder more, in my opinion.
 
He played against us a long time ago and looked good as a youngster. I dont think he ever really pushed on from the little I've paid attention to Porto since then. He's one of Mourinho's style of sitting defensive midfielders. Definitely the kind of player our fans seemed to want Fellaini to be in the summer.
 
I think this is the guy Roberto Martinez was trying to get a work permit for on deadline day. He's Brazilian but has never played for the national team so it's an issue but apparently he's been in Portugal 6 years and is close to getting a passport there which would negate the need for a permit if he came to the PL.

I can't comment on his quality, because I've not watched him, but here is what Arruda thinks:

Arruda said:
He's nowhere near what you need. Basically a defender that sits in midfield in front of the CB's. He's dire at anything resembling possession or passing. He has been excellent for us in our system (up until this season) but I it's the only system he can play. I think even teams playing with a midfield trio and a single DM will be looking for better ball playing skills than what he has.


He's in his final year of contract so should leave in a free, but I'd be surprised if he signs for a better team than us. Richer maybe, but no way better.
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We've been linked to him a lot. His agent is Mendes and says its unlikely he will sign a new contract at Porto. His contract is up this summer so they either sell him cheaply in January or he leaves on a free at the end of the season.

I don't like how limited he sounds on the ball (from Arruda's post) but the CMs we were after in the summer (bar Fellaini) makes me think Moyes knows what we need.

Anyway here are a few relatively recent Sport Witness articles on him (and us):

http://sportwitness.ning.com/forum/...-to-get-midfield-target-on?xg_source=activity

http://sportwitness.ning.com/xn/detail/6365595:Topic:341666

http://sportwitness.ning.com/xn/detail/6365595:Topic:337516

http://sportwitness.ning.com/xn/detail/6365595:Topic:337543
 
The White Pele said:
Could he be our primary transfer target for January to add some steel to the midfield?

We were linked with him in the papers in October and David Moyes was at the Atletico-Porto match tonight amid some recent speculation of interest from other clubs, including Juventus.

Obligatory YouTube video:



I couldn't find an existing thread.
Click to expand...



Thanks for not bumping an old thread and starting a new one.
 
Fellaini has ruined our chances of signing a good defensive midfielder I think.

Fernando is excellent at what he does though. Surprised that people don't remember how he completely shut us down the last time we played Porto in the Champions League. Was absolutely outstanding over two legs. Proper defensive midfielder though, although I believe every top team needs one. Anyway, as I said, we blew a whole load of money on Afroman, so I cannot see us buying a whole load of midfielders around him in order to force him even further out of the reckoning. This is the main disadvantage of signing Fellaini in my view. The opportunity cost.
 
Looks alright. I'd much sooner see Fletcher return to the fold provided he's fully fit. He can do all of that plus more. Big money on a box-to-box, creative midfielder is far more important.
 
Kag said:
Looks alright. I'd much sooner see Fletcher return to the fold provided he's fully fit. He can do all of that plus more. Big money on a box-to-box, creative midfielder is far more important.
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Let's be real, even when fit, Fletcher and Fernando were in different leagues physically. Fernando is a beast, and would win most duels. For too many years, our centre has been soft. And given his contract situation, he'd either be free or nominally cheap, leaving big money for a more creative player.

Fernando is best suited to playing in a three man midfield I think, or in a set up with another defensive player with the four in front allowed to not focus on defending at all. I certainly wouldn't like to see him in a 442 for us, as I agree he'd be too limited. In a 3, or a double-pivot, we'd be very tough to break down though.
 
pocco said:
We need a backup for Carrick too. By the end of the season we may see 2 or 3 midfielders leave/retire. We definitely need more than one.
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Nah, enough backups. Most of our midfielders are backups. Actually, most arent even good enough ATM to be that.
 
How does "more than one" midfielder fit into a two-man position that will already contain Carrick, Fellaini, Cleverley and Fletcher - possibly even Giggs?

Realistically, the only midfielder we'll be getting rid of is Anderson. I see only room for one more unless Moyes is going to do something uncharacteristic of the club. For example, being ruthless with Fletcher on his return/selling an academy graduate in Cleverley/telling Giggs to retire.
 
Rozay said:
Let's be real, even when fit, Fletcher and Fernando were in different leagues physically. Fernando is a beast, and would win most duels. For too many years, our centre has been soft. And given his contract situation, he'd either be free or nominally cheap, leaving big money for a more creative player.

Fernando is best suited to playing in a three man midfield I think, or in a set up with another defensive player with the four in front allowed to not focus on defending at all. I certainly wouldn't like to see him in a 442 for us, as I agree he'd be too limited. In a 3, or a double-pivot, we'd be very tough to break down though.
Click to expand...


Fletcher was an animal for us for a time. He bossed midfields against the likes of City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Inter, Milan and countless others. This guy seems to be better in the tackle, but by all accounts he's little more than average on the ball, whereas Fletcher could and can actually knock it about a bit. His passing has always been underrated.

I agree with your last point. I don't actually mind going for an out and out defensive midfielder in principle, but I just can't see Moyes changing the formation to accommodate one given Rooney and Van Persie are at the club. And like I said, I don't think there's enough for multiple midfielders anyway, unless Moyes gets ruthless.
 
He seems like a decent midfielder. He won't tear apart the league but should be good enough to improve us and won't cost a bomb, in the last year of his contract and with Porto out of CL we should be able to grab him for a decent fee.
 
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