Rodrigo Gomes – The Portuguese winger attracting Premier League interest by Calum Scullion
Player Bio:
Name: Rodrigo Gomes
Age: 20
Place of birth: Póvoa De Varzim
Nationality: Portugese
Height: 1.75M
Position: Right Winger
Background:
Portugal has been a constant talent factory for decades and the current generation has some very exciting players such as Antonio Silva, Joao Neves and Tiago Tomas just to name a few, however I’d like to talk about a winger that is having a great breakout season at Estoril Praia and who is already being linked with big European clubs, Rodrigo Gomes.
Rodrigo Gomes was born on the 7th of July 2003 in Póvoa De Varzim, his football career began at CB Povoa Lanhoso and he played for a couple of other youth clubs before being picked up by Braga in 2014. He progressed through their age groups and worked his way up to playing for the U23 team while still a teenager and scoring regularly at this level. Gomes made his first team debut for Braga on the 3rd of October 2020 in a 4-0 win against CD Tondela.
In the 21/22 season Gomes made 20 appearances for Braga scoring 1 goal and providing 1 assist, he was mainly coming off the bench and playing the last few minutes of games so naturally it was hard for him to have a real impact. He made 27 appearances in 22/23 and scored twice, once again struggling to have a real impact or cement himself as a starter in the team.
He decided to go on loan to Estoril Praia for this season and so far it has proved to be a great decision. Gomes has made 26 appearances in all competitions so far this season scoring 6 goals and providing 7 assists and he seems to be really enjoying starting and contributing to goals regularly.
Playstyle:
In the games I watched Rodrigo Gomes mostly played in his favoured right wing position, however he also played as a RWB and LWB at times. He took up good positions out wide, made lots of short passes and was good at keeping play flowing in these crowded attacking areas. He played lots of Good 1-2s and passing combinations, especially in wide areas. Gomes often made a forward pass then made a great over/underlapping run and then look to receive the ball again in a more advanced area.I do think his general crossing was pretty inconsistent, he made a couple of great deliveries but most of them were easily intercepted or struggled to beat the first man, however once he got into these advanced creative areas he at times made these great cut back passes into the box which most of his assists have came from so far this season. Showed good vision to spot runs and potential passing options in attacking areas.
Gomes shows a great determination to take opponents on and consistently drive forward, he has good dribbling and ball carrying ability and he often used this to Get himself into attacking areas were he could be effective. He showed some great moments of skill and trickery and made defenders really work hard to try and dispossess him. He often dropped deep to show for the ball and showed good determination to get on the ball and make things happen.
He was also very good at running onto the ball, showed good off ball movement and often made dangerous runs in behind. Gomes was very effective in counter-attacking situations due to his blistering pace and ability to get up the pitch quickly. He is definitely an attacking threat and can both create and score goals, he has shown himself to be a decent finisher at Liga Portugal level and some of his strikes were top class. He also showed good instincts and ability to get on the end of second chances/loose balls and capitalise on mistakes made by opponents in the final third.
I also like what Gomes offers defensively/when the team is under pressure, he tracked back well and provided good defensive help at times. When playing as a wing back he showed that he can compete defensively by being able to intercept the ball, make tackles and clear the ball when needed. Physically small and lean build, lacked any real strength and acceleration. Great pace and ability to get up and down the pitch well.
The one thing I do think he needs to improve to take his game to the next level and be considered a player ready for a top league is his decision making, I just felt he could be a bit more clinical at times in attacking areas and should have passed instead of shooting and vice versa on certain occasions. I would also like to see him be more consistent with his crossing and ability to play killer passes but I think this will come with more experience and as he develops over the next couple of seasons.
Career future/Overall Evaluation:
I definitely think Rodrigo Gomes is a great young player that has potential to play in a top league and for the Portuguese national team over the next few years. I do think it will be interesting to see what happens when he returns to Braga in the summer, he may need another season in the Liga Portugal to continue his development and then we may really see him at his full level/potential.
He is rumoured to be joining Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer and I think this is a great move for him if it happens but as I said maybe he needs another year in Portugal or a similar league to grow and improve before making that step to a top league like the premier league but it definitely would be a smart piece of business by Wolves nonetheless. It will be exciting to see how his career develops over the next couple of seasons and I have no doubt that he will be playing for a top team in the next 3-4 years.