Born in Cape Verde in May 1999, Edson Pereira arrived in Portugal via AD Baião. At the start of the season, he played as a winger, striker, and second striker. With the change of coaches, he settled in as a centre midfielder.
From a physical point of view, Edson stands out for his athleticism. Robust in duels, he’s able to withstand loads and carry opponents in one-on-one duels. He is a player of medium-high stature and morphologically mesomorphic. His execution speed is good, as is his speed of movement. He has good acceleration and is capable of sprinting for long metres – his stride is wide.
In attack, Edson is capable of creating goal-scoring moves on his own. He doesn’t tend to drop too low to look for the ball and can wait for it behind opposing pressure – he can get rid of individualised pressure. On the receiving end, he’s not always well orientated towards the opponent’s goal, but he’s capable of taking opponents out of the game in one-on-ones due to his technical quality – he’s good at deception and quick to move the ball – his ability to retain possession and his agility. When he’s free, he’s a player capable of looking for the final pass creatively: on the ground, he looks for spaces between defenders; in the air, he looks for the back of the defensive line diagonally in search of the winger, either on the same side or on the opposite side. He can also advance with the ball for long metres and, after locking onto his opponent or overtaking him in a one-on-one, decide according to the context he has. When it comes to finishing, he shows good finishing technique. He tends to shoot high and in the air, but he can also shoot with power. He dares to take on the goalkeeper in one-on-one situations and, when there is little space, chip the ball over him. He’s a strong deep-lying attacking player due to his physical prowess.
In defensive organisation, Edson is a player who doesn’t unbalance the team structure – in a medium or low block. If he presses high, he shows aggression towards his opponent. He knows how to press the ball carrier directly, or make the “L” movement for pressure – he could improve in individual defensive duels if he started to contain more often. In defensive transition, he shows some inconsistency from game to game, i.e. he always manages to react to a loss, but he doesn’t always run back and perhaps that’s the biggest weakness in his overall game. His competitive attitude is something you can tell he has when the ball is close, but he could improve when it’s further away.
For the future, in the short term, I think the ideal thing for Edson Pereira is to continue playing as he has done since the change of coaches at AD Baião. He’s settled in midfield and that’s made him simplify his game and be more consistent when it comes to getting minutes. In the medium to long term, I think he’s a player to watch out for at the level of the Campeonato de Portugal – Portugal’s fourth tier – especially if he improves his willingness in every game to run in behind, speed up his attacking actions a little and make better decisions in certain contexts.
Target Scouting 