Natan de Souza arrives from Brazilian side Bragantino. Was this the right move for Rudi Garcia and the reigning Italian champions?
First, it was Kalidou Koulibaly to Chelsea, then Bayern Munich came for Kim Min-Jae. After losing two of the world’s top defenders for two seasons running, Napoli has rolled the dice on Natan Bernardo de Souza, a 22-year-old left-footer from the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo, meaning Holy Spirit. Neapolitans are familiar with divine intervention, and a blessing from the hand of God might be needed if he’s to fill the gaping hole left by 2022-23’s Serie A Defender of the Season.
Yet, there’s a lot of hype surrounding Natan’s thrifty $11M transfer with many Azzurri fans keen to evaluate a likely defensive partnership with Amir Rrahmani. Previously, Napoli sporting director Mauro Meluso had one eye on Kevin Danso and the other on Robin Le Normand but both balked at the idea of leaving RC Lens and Real Sociedad, respectively.
According to the Corriere dello Sport, de Souza’s contract is comprised of a five-year deal expiring in 2028, with $1.2M salary per season plus bonuses – $1M less than Min-Jae’s earnings last term and $11.1M less than Koulibaly’s during his final year in Campania.
For Natan, the move to Italy is a huge step in his career. His futebol journey began by winning the domestic title with Flamengo in 2020 at the age of 19. RB Bragantino then took ownership for $835K where he started in 96 of 105 matches across all competitions, yielding 81 minutes per game. The solid returns on the pitch translate to the balance sheet. Bragantino makes a tidy 1315% profit just three years later, and, accordingly, Natan’s wage increases from $10K to $101K per month before bonuses.
Young Brazilian defenders always come with risk but the move is representative of calcio in a post-lockdown world: to buy cheap and sell for hefty profits, exemplified by Igor’s $19M move from Fiorentina to Brighton. The advantages of frugality for Napoli are clear. It leaves space to bring in additional signings before the summer window closes and if it’s not working out, reinforcements can take place in January. If all goes to plan, the $44M in profits from the Min-Jae and Koulibaly sales can help fund a new stadium.
Comparable to Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis’ business intuition, Natan delights in anticipating his opponent’s next move on the pitch, sliding in advance to dispossess constrained wingers making touchline runs. Impressing Massa Bruta fans with incessant ball recovery skills, he also possesses great speed in cover defense and can dispatch penalty kicks.
With Roger Ibañez leaving for Al Ahli and Rodrigo Becão’s transition to Fenerbahçe, Natan is added to the dwindling list of Brazilian center-backs in Italy’s Serie A which includes Ruan at Sassuolo, plus Bremer and Danilo at Juventus and new teammate Juan Jesus.
Last year, ‘experts’ realized that buying cheaper doesn’t necessarily imply downgrading. The masses took aim at then-unknown Min-Jae who’d arrived from Fenerbahçe for $20M after Koulibaly departed for the English Premier League for $42M. Only Chinese Super League and Turkish Super Lig fans were aware of his true potential. A year later, the $55M fee paid by Bayern, who executed his release clause in July, is considered a steal in today’s market.
Most are claiming that Natan could be Min-Jae’s heir. Upon closer observation, one can draw parallels to Koulibaly’s arrival back in 2014 during the Rafa Benitez era. At 23 years of age, the Senegalese was an obscure signing when he switched over from Racing Genk for $8.5M. Moreover, both share many attributes encompassing good positional awareness, a strong aerial presence and a robust physique. Natan is also left-footed and this means that he can play as a left center-half or on the left side of a center-back trio.
His versatility will be key in the eyes of Rudi Garcia who has chosen a defender that has consistently switched between three and four-man backline systems under Bragantino coach Pedro Caixinha. This is good news for Partenopei fans. Garcia is more adventurous than last season’s Scudetto-winning manager Luciano Spalletti. The Frenchman is fresh from a stint in the Saudi Premier League with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr and he’s not afraid to change his formation. This was demonstrated by his success with French side Lyon where he successfully knocked Juventus and Manchester City out of the UEFA Champions League in 2020.
Natan also enjoys playing higher up the pitch and that will suit Napoli’s possession-based style. His impressive dribbling allows for progression out of the defensive third, however, his appetite for slide tackle destruction must be abated.
RB Bragantino is part of the Red Bull conglomerate known for purchasing and entirely re-branding sports teams, with other football clubs based in Leipzig, Salzburg, New York and Sogakope in Ghana. Formerly known as Clube Atlético Bragantino, it’s situated in the city of Braganca Paulista, 55 miles north of São Paulo, the club currently occupies seventh position in Brazil’s top flight.
Like its sister clubs, Bragantino focuses on player development, akin to Sassuolo and Atalanta in Italy. The Braga Boys earned top-tier promotion for the first time in 2020 and not one member of the 2023 squad has ever represented Brazil’s senior team. Of the $10.2M in profits, Red Bull GmbH will take $6.9M from the deal with $3.3M split between Natan’s former clubs Flamengo and Porto Vitoria.
Yet to receive a call-up to Brazil’s national team setup at any level, Natan now automatically becomes a Selecão talking point. Before him lies the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of former Napoli legends Alemão and André Cruz, both capped more than 30 times by the five-time FIFA World Cup winners. Alternatively, there’s always the Italian naturalization route that Luiz Felipe and Rafael Toloi have traveled.
Natan is Napoli’s second signing of the summer after goalkeeper Elia Caprile who arrives from Bari – the De Laurentiis’ other club that contests Serie B – although Giacomo Raspadori and Giovanni Di Lorenzo have recently penned five-year extensions.
As it stands, Napoli remains undefeated in four preseason friendlies so far against Girona, SPAL, Hatayspor and Augsburg, conceding twice and scoring seven times. Leo Østigård has started every match, however Natan can prove himself against Apollon Limassol. That match takes place eight days before the season opener away at Frosinone.