Name: Nelson Oliveira
Club: Deportivo De La Coruna (on loan from Benfica)
Nationality: Portuguese
Position: Striker
Who is he?
Having started out at Sporting Braga’s youth ranks, Oliveir moved to Portugal’s capital and the country’s most successful club Benfica aged 15 in 2006.
However his first appearance in the Portuguese came on loan at Rio Ave in February 2010.
He then spent the 2010/11 season on loan at Northern club Pacos de Ferreira before finally making his official debut for Benfica at the start of last season.
Mainly a reserve during the season, he did make 21 appearances in all competitions, scoring three times, including a Champions League goal against Zenit St Petersburg.
This season he has moved to Spain on loan where he has lined out for a struggling Deportivo de La Coruna side, playing well enough to attract links to Manchester United, City and Chelsea.
Achievements
A prolific goalscorer for Portugal’s youth teams, he made his senior international debut last February, making enough of an impression to win a place on the plane to Poland for Euro 2012.
Portugal coach mainly utilized the 21-year-old as an impact sub during the tournament, as the striker of Egyptian-descent came off the bench three times as the Iberians reached the semis.
Attributes
At 6ft 1, Oliveira is a threat in the air but one of his greatest assets is his pace and power (watch below) as he started his early career on the wing. Highly mobile, he makes a point of running the channels in the hunt for space.
Potential
Portugal have produced great wingers and midfielders over the years, but with the notable exceptions of the all-time great Eusebio and the country’s record top scorer Pauleta, the number 9 position has been sparse during the past decade.
But whether Oliveira is the man to fill that void is still open to question as his goalscoring record at club level is distinctly average so far.
The other problem is the over-abundance of Brazilian and other South American players in the Portuguese league which is one of the reasons why the talented youngster has been shipped out on loan so far in his career and has done him no favours.
