Gustavo Sá is a 19-year-old attacking midfielder who plays for FC Famalicão in the Liga Portugal. The Portuguese midfielder started his career at Academia Elite Sport before joining FC Porto’s youth academy in 2015. After a brief period at the club, Gustavo Sá joined FC Famalicão’s youth academy in 2018. He made his first-team debut in August 2022 and has been a regular starter for Famalicão since November 2023. He even captained the side against Estoril. Gustavo Sá was also part of the Portugal U-19 squad who lost the final of the U-19 European Championships in the summer of 2023.
Standing at 1.89m with an average build, Gustavo Sá is a very tall attacking midfielder. Despite his tall frame, Gustavo Sá moves very well and is incredibly mobile. The Portuguese youngster moves elegantly and has quick directional changes, whilst also displaying quick feet and quick feints under pressure. He has a decent burst of speed and also displays decent speed over long distances. Gustavo Sá has improved his core strength over the last year, looking stronger and stronger on the ball and in shoulder-to-shoulder duels. He displays good jumping reach in aerial duels, winning most of his aerial duels comfortably.
The Portuguese midfielder has a nice technical profile. Gustavo Sá showcases his excellent first touch plenty of times, scanning well before receiving and knowing when he can take a progressive touch. He is very comfortable on the ball under pressure, displaying good close control in tight spaces and evading pressure well. Even though his passing over short distances can be slightly sloppy at times, he has developed his drilled passing technique to perfection in the last year. He finds teammates with (drilled) angled passes and through passes, creating plenty of danger in front of goal. Gustavo Sá has decent ball-striking from range and good decision-making in the final third, whilst also having good movement in the box. However, his goal contributions and underlying stats are not good enough for an attacking midfielder. I think this is partly because of Famalicão’s playing style as they do not create many chances against low-blocks. At a higher quality team, his numbers will rise as he will get found more often in good areas.
As mentioned before, Gustavo Sá’s off-the-ball movement is very good. He is a good presser, often recovering possession high up the pitch and winning many duels. Gustavo Sá, in possession, also finds space between the lines well, preferring to operate close to the box but also dropping deep plenty of times. He makes good runs into the channels, exploiting the space between the opponent’s centre-back and full-back well.
I think Gustavo Sá is still quite an inconsistent attacking midfielder who should score and assist more, but his profile is very interesting. He is very tall but moves extremely well for his frame, has a very nice technical profile and displays excellent off-the-ball movement. I would be very excited to see Gustavo Sá in a dominant, possession-based side. He would be a good rotational player for clubs like SL Benfica, Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord, but deciding to stay at FC Famalicão for at least 1,5 years would also be good for his development. I think he has the potential to become a good player for a Europa League side in the top 5 leagues.
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