Vítor Ferreira, a.k.a Vitinha, recently caught the attention of Premier League fans after Liverpool’s new Sporting Director, Julian Ward, reportedly made him a transfer target. The 22-year-old Portuguese youngster is known for his excellent passing and dribbling technique, on-the-ball composure, and defensive contributions.
He is the perfect modern-day central midfielder who can help the team in progression and defense. His impressive profile has garnered interest from several big clubs, including Liverpool and Real Madrid.
In this article, I will take a look at his 2021–22 Primeira Liga season using data and compare the numbers to Liverpool’s active midfielders.
Season Overview
Vitinha has played 1773 minutes in the Primeira Liga this season. He has scored two goals and assisted two in the given timeframe. He has played as a central midfielder (CM) for the majority of the season, while he has also played as a defensive midfielder (CDM) and an attacking midfielder (CAM) on a few occasions.
Passing
One of Vitinha’s best attributes is his passing. He is really good at progressing the ball and has the ability to get the ball into dangerous locations with his passes.
The map above shows all of his 110 successful progressive passes this season.
If we take a closer look at the end location of his progressive passes, we can clearly see that his passes are able to penetrate the penalty box and reach the more threatening areas of the pitch.
I also decided to take a look at the end locations of his unsuccessful passes this season. It is evident that a high amount of his unsuccessful passes end up inside the penalty box, which shows that he is an ambitious passer who tries to find players inside the box.
He has also made 164 successful passes into the final third this season at the rate of 8.33 per 90, and 37 key passes at the rate of 1.88 per 90.
Dribbling
The current batch of Portuguese youngsters like Francisco Trincão, Fábio Vieira, and Rafael Leão have excellent dribbling ability, and Vitinha is no exception. He is extremely quick with his feet and is good at evading players. He is blessed with skills, which makes him a lot more challenging to deal with.
With a total of 40 successful take-ons (2.03 per 90) with an accuracy of 70.1%, he is one of the best in the Primeira Liga when it comes to getting past players.
Defending
Vitinha’s contribution towards the defense is a very underrated component of his game. He excels in counter-pressing, recovering and tackling. He is very quick-witted when it comes to creating counter-attacks right after winning the ball. Off the ball, he tries to prevent the opposition’s attacks, and when he is on the ball, he helps his side in retaining the ball as he has excellent on-the-ball composure.
Averaging 1.32 tackles won per 90; he has won 26 tackles this season with a success rate of 62%.
Recovering loose balls is another strong point in Vitinha’s game. As it can be seen in the map above, he has recovered the ball from nearly every part of the pitch. A total of 156 ball recoveries (7.92 per 90) this season.
As I mentioned earlier, he offers a lot of security on the ball. He has been dispossessed only 13 times this season. His composure and control help a lot in ball retention. He is also very good at reading the game and intercepting the ball (1.47 interceptions per 90, the highest among all Porto players this season). Feisty, when it comes to winning the ball back but knows when to strategically foul the opponent in order to slow down an attack.
The only downside to his game is that he is weak aerially. He has lost more aerial duels (10) than he has won (9) this season.
Comparison with Liverpool Midfielders and Similarities
Even though Vitinha is 22 years old, he has shown that he has the ability to go straight to the top. In terms of overall playstyle, he is very similar to Thiago. Just like Thiago, he is also a progressive-minded midfielder who takes his defensive responsibility seriously.
He has made 8.33 successful passes into the final third per 90 this season. If you compare it to the numbers put up by Liverpool midfielders this season, he ranks second behind Thiago (10.7 per 90).
When it comes to interceptions, Vitinha is averaging 1.5 interceptions per 90 this season. Milner, Fabinho, and Thiago are the only Liverpool midfielders who make more interceptions (per 90) than him.
Statistically, his numbers are very similar to Thiago’s. All factors considered, he can easily reach the highest level if he receives the right guidance.
Conclusion
It is no surprise that big clubs like Liverpool and Real Madrid are interested in Vitinha. He is still only 22 years old and has all the ingredients that are required to become a world-class midfielder. It’s only a matter of time before a top club signs him.
In my opinion, he would be a great signing for Liverpool. He can develop quickly under the guidance of Klopp and Thiago and occupy the LCM spot in the future. He is someone who I think should be a part of the future alongside Carvalho, Elliott, and co.
All the data has been taken from Opta and Statsbomb via FBref.
