Talents Calendar
The majority of footballers who make it into the professional game were still waiting for their first assignment on their 17th birthday. Only a small number are allowed to join the big players on the pitch at the tender age of 16. Roger Fernandes is one of them, more precisely he made it at SC Braga at the age of 15. On November 21, he celebrated his 17th birthday and is now in the first minor crisis of his career.
Fernandes was discovered as a child by one of the many Portuguese scouts in Guinea-Bissau. The small country on the Atlantic coast with only 2 million inhabitants is not necessarily known as a football nation, but the capital Bissau in particular has been a popular address for clubs from Portugal for years because the national language is Portuguese as a former colony.
Like his three cousins Joelson Fernandes, Saná Fernandes (both at Sporting Lisbon) and Ricardo Mango (SC Beira-Mar), Fernandes ventured to Portugal early on and joined SC Braga. He made an impressive debut there in August 2021. Just before the Portuguese Super Cup against Sporting, winger Galeno (23) was injured and coach Carlos Carvalhal asked the youth team leader who could take his place. The choice fell on the young left-footer who should impress from the start.
“Roger started training and I liked him from the first touch of the ball. I liked him so much that he played in the first team for the first training match against Vizela”, Carvalhal was later told by the sports daily “Oh Jogoquoted. “In the evening, as always, I watched the game again at home. One of my concerns was Roger’s offensive and defensive positioning and correcting that. (…) At the end of the 45 minutes his paper was empty… I was fascinated! How is it possible that this boy identifies so much with our game?!”
In addition to the obvious qualities that Fernandes, like many young players, brought with him – speed, good technique, creativity – what really stood out was his good understanding of the game. The reason for this, as Carvalhal explained afterwards, was a video study of the youngster. Since arriving in Portugal, he has regularly watched first-team games, paying particular attention to the role played by the attacking players. “He hasn’t looked at Barcelona or Liverpool. He has studied the team he wants to play for. (…) I have never experienced such a situation, but I think that this should serve as a positive example for those who want to play in their club’s first team one day. I have no idea if young Roger will be a real player! But he’s on the right track, there’s no doubt about that.”
Roger faz a sua estreia pelo Braga com apenas 15 anos pic.twitter.com/ME13DytJgs
— B24 (@B24PT) July 31, 2021
After his first appearance in the Supercup (at the age of 15 years and 252 days), Fernandes played in ten more games, in which he scored three goals and made several appearances in the history books: fourth youngest player and youngest goalscorer in the Portuguese league, youngest player and youngest goalscorer in Portuguese Cup and second youngest player in Europa League. He was only stopped by a metatarsal fracture in February 2022 and has had to put his claims aside since then.
Interested parties were still queuing in the summer. Newcastle United are said to have prepared a £17m bid and Borussia Dortmund have also been named as potential buyers. Ultimately, however, a transfer did not materialize and Braga changed coaches – away from promoter Carvalhal and towards Artur Jorge. The 50-year-old led the “Arcebiscos” to third place, but completely dispensed with Fernandes, who was only used by the second team in the third division.
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According to “A Bola”, Newcastle want to start a new attempt this winter and are hoping for a cheaper deal for the supposedly dissatisfied Fernandes. It remains to be seen whether he is already being lured by the nouveau riche English club or whether he will continue his development, which is still in its infancy, in the familiar environment in Braga. Despite a slight devaluation in November, the offensive player, who can also play on the flanks without defensive protection, is already the second most valuable player in his nation with a market value of EUR 3.5 million. ESTAC Troyes’ Mama Baldé is ahead of Fernandes at €6m – he certainly has the potential to top that amount in the future.
Every day from 1st to 24th December Transfermarkt presents a talent from the 2005 or 2006 vintage from a different country. Sponsors, data scouts and users are used as experts and report interesting facts about 24 young players in our talent calendar, which you should keep a close eye on in the future. For example with the TM watch list.
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