Born in 2022, Tiago Santos trained with Sporting CP, AD Oeiras, SG Sacavenense, and GD Estoril-Praia. He reached professional football through Sporting CP’s Under-23 team and returned to the Cascais club. This season he joined the main team of the “Canarinhos,” where he has been one of the revelations of the current season.
With only 1.75 meters of height, Tiago Santos has an impressive speed. The way he quickly accelerates and performs actions at high speed is tremendously impressive. Tiago can do the whole right corridor repeatedly and never show physical wear and tear. He is also robust, and you can tell by how he wins several duels during games.
Tiago Santos is another one of the many players who trained as a winger, but when he got to professional football, he became a full-back. As such, and despite not being something straightforward, his technical quality is undoubtedly evident in all his actions in the game. Allied to the agility, he demonstrates in zigzagging comes the ease of changing the ball direction and leaving opponents behind. He can efficiently perform all the offensive principles of the game and can play with both feet. He creates with quality and ease on his own, which can be seen by the constant way he reaches the last third of the opposing team with an advantage.
Tactically, the Portuguese youngster has not revealed any shortcomings. Offensively, he occupies the spaces the game gives him, either in the central or side corridors. He doesn’t inhibit himself from looking for tighter ground, as he has the technical quality to succeed. Defensively, he complies with the principles of an organized defensive line and has quality in the application of the defensive principles of the game: containment, coverage, and balance.
The future looks bright for Tiago. After becoming a starter on the right wing of GD Estoril-Praia, the young Portuguese should continue to add minutes to develop his game. Should he maintain his display level, he will likely leap to a similar level to SC Braga. We can even raise the bar and say that he would fit in Sporting CP, SL Benfica, or FC Porto as a valid option for any moment of the game. He is a player who can reach a very high level in his career.