Leicester City were quietly interested in Benfica defender Morato for the summer window. Here is what you need to know about the player and our thoughts.
The King Power club had a fairly quiet transfer window despite all the rumours which surrounded it. Only Alex Smithies and Wout Faes were recruited, while several were released, two sold, and one loaned out (a few U23s were also loaned out). Not much then for the senior squad.
Nevertheless, there were plenty of links towards defenders. This was a position the Foxes lacked genuine depth or options in. This is mainly because Brendan Rodgers does not trust Caglar Soyuncu or Jannik Vestergaard. Therefore, the Foxes only really have Jonny Evans, Faes, and Daniel Amartey who are trusted to play, even Wilfred Ndidi is preferred at the back before them.
So, it was unsurprising to have more players linked. One such recent story is about Benfica centre-back Morato. The Brazilian is an interesting talent, so here are the three things you should know about the target.
Leicester City’s what to know
There is no question as to why the King Power club were interested in the player. At only 21-years-old, the potential is there for plenty of growth, a long career, and high resale value should that be necessary. I believe he was considered an option instead of Faes.
Firstly, I checked over his FB Ref and Sofascore profiles to get an understanding of what kind of player the East Midlands club was/is scouting. Most critical is to understand the stylistic utility of the defender, as well as the positionality they take up.
Positionality is quite easy to check. Using the talent’s profiles, we can see Morato is a left-sided centre-back who likes to progress the ball. On top of that, as part of that brilliant Benfica side, they typically take on a much higher and compact defensive line.
As such, positionally, Morato is what Leicester City have been missing for a while. A natural left-footed centre-back. However, the Brazilian is no Wesley Fofana, and nor would I consider them similar to Evans.
Stylistically, Morato is a left-sided Wout Faes. This means a more composed variation of the Soyuncu-style player. Essentially, he is more thoughtful as to when he puts in challenges, passes, or progresses through ball carrying. However, the 21-year-old still does these more aggressive and progressive actions.
As per the Sofascore profile, we see that over the course of last season, the defender achieved 2.4 clearances per game and 1.0 tackles per game (not the quantity of tackles in total). These represent fairly modest figures. They are likely skewed by Benfica’s usual dominance in games.
Nevertheless, they tell us that along with the high line positioning, the player does not wildly go into challenges. Additionally, when adding onto that the number of tackles which resulted in possession won (considering Morato is not the first team player) as per the FB Ref profile, we see a player who chooses when to challenge and will likely win more of those challenges.
This to me is almost a carbon copy of Faes. The only difference is the addition of familiarity with the high line and compact defence. As such, the player is young, positionally perfect, and stylistically useful for the Foxes.
Should the transfer go ahead?
With the January transfer window already shaping up to be massive for Leicester City – especially should any change in head coach go ahead – the time could be right to reinforce the defence. A move for any CB would be wise.
Of course, it is believed that Rennes put in three bids with the highest valuing £15m, all were rejected and Morato has since signed a deal until 2027. The transfer fee would likely be around £20-25m to get the signature.
Based on that estimated price, and on the necessity of improving, I would obviously say there are other targets around or of a little higher price of similar if not better quality. Think of the young French CB’s like Jean-Clair Todibo.
However, a move for the player would be better than keeping things as they are. It would also stop Rodgers whining about not being backed in the transfer window.