That's when the appeal thing comes into play - Caps at Youth/ Under 21 level and the potential of the player and so on.
We probably only signed Khumalo as part of our deal with Supersport - when Feyenoord were tied up with them, they picked up a couple of their players, and one of them barely played a game for them before being sent back.
It has been confirmed that Spurs have signed Brazilian U-21 captain Bruno Uvini on loan for the rest if the season. The 20 year old Uvini centre half, has initially signed from Sao Paulo on loan with a view to signing a permanent deal, believed to be for £3.1m in the summer, should all parties be happy. Although Unvini won`t be eligible to play for the first team, as he has signed outside of the transfer window, the early move, would appear to be more about getting the youngster settled in his new surroundings before making the deal permanent in the summer. Speaking of the move, Uvini told Sao Paulo's official website: ''It's a great opportunity that came up and I couldn't let it pass me. Tottenham are a big club with worldwide exposure, and they've asked me to present myself. ''I have just over three months to adapt myself to English football, to the club and the culture. I will grow up a lot in my professional and personal life with this choice.'' It is believed that Uvini was a player that interested Arsenal, whilst he was strongly linked and expected to sign for Italian side Genoa in the January window, though Tottenham`s interest was also made public. As for who Uvini is, and what sort of player he is, he appears to be a ball playing central defender, who appears to excel at bring the ball out from the back. From what little footage is available, he reminds me of Younes Kaboul in his drive, whilst some have rightly or wrongly likened him to Sandro in his style of play, I suppose you just have to picture our very own Ninja playing in the centre of defence... Read more: http://www.spurs.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=7511366#ixzz1mSVrX5mU
A ninja in central defence? What, does he spring up out of nowhere and stick a kusarigama into the opponent's jugular? If so, can we have him man-marking Luis Suarez next season?
From his Wikipedia page: Bruno Uvini (born June 3, 1991 in Capivari) is a Brazilian central defender who currently plays for Tottenham Hotspur on loan from São Paulo and is the captain of Brazilian U-20 team. He holds an Italian passport. I'm saying nothing!
I hope the kid impresses. He's the captain of a very useful Brazilian side, which means as well as flair and technical ability he also has leadership qualities, which we have been lacking in some of the youngsters we were hoping to turn into super-stars.
I seem to remember we signed Leigh Mills who was U16/U17 captain and he never came to much. £3mill does seem quite cheap to get a player off a big Brazilian club if he's got loads of potential but I'm sure we've been scouting him a lot given our increased presence of scouts in South America.
I think U21 captain is a lot more meaningful than U16 captain though YV - there's a much greater chance that the player is going to come good at the later stage. Mills is currently playing for Winchester City
From the YouTube clip he looks very impressive.... In fact his positional play and apparent calmness reminds me of a certain CB on our books- and if he turns out to be half as good as Leds then 'Happy Days'. He seems keen to keep it simple, but still shows some flair. David Luis with a brain perhaps? And maybe he will convince his mate Neymar to come with him?
Yep, from 'you tube' he looks a fair size and can head the ball. Whether he'll be able to cope with the aerial game that is so prevalent in our league we'll have to find out. That's doubtless one of the reasons we're trialling him, and won't be paying £3m unless we think he can cope with the English game. It's a low risk gamble, and well worth taking IMHO.