Catherine Kortsmik (Wikimedia Commons)
Galatasaray are about to pay 12 million Euros for an 18-year-old winger from Sporting Lisbon who had one of the best tournaments of his young career in the Under-20 World Cup for Portugal – Armindo Tue Na Bangna, or Bruma for short.
The kid is full of a special energy that allows him to sprint all over the attacking third whether it be on the left, right or middle. But his specialty is down either wing as he likes to build from the sidelines and use his teammates to find a way into the area to take hard shots at goal.
If he is so talented, how did Gala win his signature?
Well, he played successfully in an international youth tournament, but he has not logged many A team minutes for Sporting. Therefore, paying this kind of money for a young kid who is not that strong but can run and dance is a bit risky. Then again, let’s remember that we are talking about a Turkish club.
Gala paid a lot of money for 35-year-old Didier Drogba who can still score, still run, still dazzle and even defend at times when called upon. However, giving him over 5 million Euros yearly is a bit too much. Wesley Sneijder also plays at Gala but is not nearly as successful as was expected, especially since the Turkish Super League is not nearly as competitive as the Serie A.
Now, with Bruma’s imminent arrival, coach Fatih Terim is pondering the formation switch from a 4-3-1-2 to a 4-2-3-1 where Bruma will own the right or left wide attacking role. In fact, most of the attacks will be orchestrated through him, especially since he still only 18 and has more energy than most of the vets on the team.
If he does definitely join, Gala can retain the league title and realistically fight for a spot in the Champions League group stage to advance to the Round of 16. With Juventus and Real Madrid two of their opponents, no one said it would be easy, but no one said it would be impossible either.
