João Paulo Ananias is a 19-year-old left-footed centre-back currently playing for Santos. He predominantly plays as a left centre-back in a back four, but is also capable of playing at left-back. The young Brazilian recently made his professional debut in April 2026 in a 2-2 draw against Bahia, starting and playing the full 90 minutes.

The 19-year-old stands at 1.88 m (6’2”) with a slightly slim, yet decently filled out physique. In terms of pace, Ananias shows decent speed when dealing with attackers. I would say his pace is good for a center back, but average for a fullback. When playing as a fullback, he looks a bit stiffer and less agile against wingers, making it difficult for Ananias to keep up sometimes. Physically, he looked dominant when playing for the U-20s and did not look out of place when playing for the first team. He is very strong when it comes to shoulder-to-shoulder duels, dealing well with contact from strikers much older and stronger than him. He is still young, though, and can still improve physically, as he can still be outmuscled on occasions and can learn how to deal with the clever antics from attackers better. Aerially, he can be a threat from set-pieces. Throughout the Copinha, he was the main target on every one of Santos’s corners and was usually first to connect on every cross. Even in senior games, he showed he is capable of winning aerial duels in both boxes, making him a good asset both defensively and offensively.

Ananias shows good ability on the ball. His technique is very strong on his long balls in behind and switches of plays, rarely giving possession away. If there was space in the midfield, he liked to play clipped balls into his teammates to bypass the first line pressure, and he executed this consistently. He is comfortable carrying the ball as well, but does not do it very frequently. The young Brazilian showed good vision to progress the ball and find his midfielders. He likes to play line-breaking passes, but can force them. He can be inconsistent with his execution and play very risky passes, leading to unforced turnovers. However, this is something that could be attributed to his youth and inexperience. Another issue was his bias towards his left foot. Due to his bias, the way he would receive and position himself to play a pass could limit his options at times. At a higher level, this is something that could be exploited and cause him to trap himself or become a pressing trigger.

Stylistically, Ananias is more of a front-footed defender. He likes being aggressive and getting close to the opponent. Ananias tends to step up to intercept passes or apply pressure as soon as the opponent receives possession. The timing of his tackles is decent, but he can still improve in this aspect. He can be successful when putting in challenges, but still has a tendency to give fouls away due to his aggression. He is very hands on when defending, usually giving little shoves or trying to pin the opponent, forcing him away from goal or preventing him from turning. Ananias seems to struggle in scenarios where he has to defend space in behind or make a decision on whether to step or sag off the opponent. I noticed this as well when he played as a left back, struggling to defend 1-2s due to being fixated on the ball. His positioning still needs improvement, but this is something that can be fixed through coaching, as he is still very young.

I like Ananias overall, but he still has some aspects to iron out in his game. He has already made 3 appearances for the first team and has looked decent in each of them. He will learn from his mistakes the more he plays for Santos. I think spending a couple of more seasons in Brazil or maybe making a move to a league like the MLS could be beneficial for his development before making the jump to a smaller league in Europe.