The second recruit in the hectic winter transfer window, to say the least, Rafael Fernandes arrives at Lille without much pressure: initially aiming for a place in the rotation, the young Portuguese He will only hope to compensate for the possible departure of Lenny Euro next summer.
He could have left his luggage with Lensuis's neighbor. As soon as the possible future successor to Kevin Danso, the main rock of RCL who did not leave Artois in the end, was announced, Rafael Fernandez (21 years old) decided to make the right decision by annexing the North with a capital “N”. The young Portuguese signed for four-and-a-half years with LOSC in the final hours of the transfer window. From his height of 91 metres, the former Arouca comes in, starting out, taking a shadow role in the rotation behind one of the best central joints in the tournament. Its arrival, scheduled for summer 2024, has finally been brought forward to winter. What's wrong is the fierce competition for the Setubal native, which might have put him out of reach of the Lille management during the next transfer window.
Connection with Thiago Santos and similarities with Lenny Euro
The young new dog has arrived in the Flanders capital barely after 15 professional matches. He passed through Sporting Lisbon's training center and met with Thiago Santos. The two men belong to the 2002 generation and did all their lessons alongside the black. At the start of 2022, the right-back chose to leave FC Lisbon in order to play for Estoril, when Rafael Fernandez opted to make his debut for Sporting's reserve team. Finally, the young Portuguese giant followed six months later, joining Aruka. The two men could have met as rivals last season, but fate would not have done so.
The selection is paying off as the centre-back, after a first year of adaptation, has become an unquestionable starter this season for Arocca. His performances in the right pivot of the defense attract the attention of European clubs, but also the Portuguese youth team staff. After getting acquainted with the under-18 team, he joined the Espoirs pool last October and found Thiago Santos and Thiago Moraes there: “His profile is similar to Leny Yoro”Alexandre Carvalho, a keen follower of Portuguese football, says: He added: “He is athletically impressive, very tall, and has a well above average muscular build.”
The similarities between the two profiles continue down to their shape: “He has very long legs, which makes him very effective in one-on-one duels. He is also very strong in the air and very skilled with the ball at his feet.”
For what views?
Despite being named as a substitute – at least for the next six months – Rafael Fernandes can rely on the absences of Samuel Umtiti and Pafodi Diakite, as well as the departure of Thiago Gallo, in the hope of getting game time. That of other Portuguese-speaking defenders who headed north. Today, it is indisputable that Alexandro also arrived with almost one professional season at Chavez, in the Portuguese second division. He was able to seize his chance after Thiago Gallo was injured in the derby against Lens, allowing him to settle into the eleventh group without being knocked out since.
The same applies to Gabriel, who arrived from the Portuguese D2 and sat on the bench for a long time before getting a starting place. Even then, there is still a long way to go to see Rafael Fernandez start for the Mastiffs, who will have the next few months first chimed in with adaptation and progress.
