Christian Osinachi Ebere – Pouso Alegre’s undervalued attacking diamond
The lower reaches of Brazilian football provide a useful resource for attacking talent, especially at this point of the year with small teams taking on bigger sides in the State Championships. However, you will mostly expect to find young Brazilian talent, not a former Nigeria U17 player who starred at the Under 17 World Cup a few years ago and was tipped as a European bound youngster. Ebere Osinachi has spent time with Parana in the Brasiliero Serie C before joining Pouso Alegre who are currently playing in the Mineiro 1 state championships. The 23-year-old will be an undervalued player to watch for teams in the middle-rung of European football as he possesses potential.
Osinachi is a robust physical presence with short-area speed as well as intriguing dribbling ability as he was a data darling in the Brasiliero Serie C last year and Mineiro 1 championship. In both competitions, he places highly in dribbling and driving into the box as he has the ability to create his own shooting opportunities, drop deep to receive the ball, using his physique to shield possession and turn before rolling the ball to a teammate. He has played on the wing, as a lone central striker as well as a striker in front two as the 23-year-old can be deployed in a wide variety of positions. In the Brasiliero Serie C, he ranked in the top five for U23 players in terms of dribbles, dribbles per 90 minutes as well as dribble completion. He also ranked high in progressive runs and receiving deep passes in the build-up phase for U23 players.
In the Mineiro 1 competition, he has the highest number of touches in the opposition penalty area while he is second in key passes as there is still a lot of his game to develop and round out. The key thing about Osinachi is that he is good at dribbling in certain situations, especially if he has to beat one man to fashion a shooting opportunity for himself in or around the box as he is not an efficient dribbler at high volume. This means if he has to weave past a glut of players or dribble out of a tight area on the flank then he will struggle to be effective with his dribbling. The 23-year-old also thrives in space, especially dropping deep to receive possession, making runs into the channels or runs in behind as he has a set of skills which suit the role of a central striker in a front two rather than a wide position. In terms of technique, movement, making runs and picking positions to receive possession in the box, he has room to develop his game.
Last season, when the 23-year-old was plying his trade at Parana, he was deployed as a central striker against Oeste in the Brasiliero Serie C. He received possession on the counter to allow the ball to roll across his body before he was tackled but the Nigerian managed to maintain possession to spread a pass into the flank and make a run into the box for a crossing opportunity that was blocked. His movement in the box was intriguing as he held his run at the top of the box until the ball was played into the wide zone which triggered a burst and run to the near post in a good position as the cross was blocked. Ebere would utilize his physical strength to shield possession and regain possession in the opposition half before elegantly skipping past a defender to drive into the box and have a shot cannon off the crossbar. This is the unique thing about his dribbling as he can utilize it to beat a man and create a shooting opportunity for himself rather than to weave past a glut of players.
The Nigerian attacker then dropped into the ten space to receive possession and drive the ball to the left flank to work a pass to a teammate before continuing his run to the flank as he can drop deep and connect play as well. The 23-year-old would receive possession in the deeper areas to skip past a man and fire a strike off target from outside the box. He has the potential to be a two-way attacking presence as he can create shooting opportunities for himself and make runs in behind while facing the opposition goal while also being able to hold up play with his back to goal as Ebere controlled a clearance in the left channel before laying off a pass to a teammate to instigate an attacking move. He would exhibit this skill again to receive a throw-in in the opposition half, using his burly physique to hold off one defender before shielding the ball from a second defender and laying off a pass to a teammate before he received possession by the left touchline to take a touch and work a pass to a teammate in the half-space.
In the second-half, Ebere received possession by the right touchline to roll the ball back and roll a pass to a teammate for a high-quality crossing opportunity as he can connect play in the channels. On the left-flank, he received possession to play a one-touch pass to a teammate to continue his run as he has the potential to grow into a high-level multi-faceted forward who can connect play in the central areas as well as the wide areas. After a turnover, the 23-year-old would receive a deep pass in the nine-space to turn and switch a pass to the opposite flank to facilitate a counter-attacking move. He turned with possession in the nine-space again to surge into the opposition half before steadying himself to work a pass to the wide areas where a teammate sent a shot straight at goal from a tight angle. He then got on the scoresheet, making a vertical run from the nine-space to the right half-space to receive possession in the channels to fire a shot past the goalkeeper from a tight angle.
This move showed the potential he has as a world class forward as if he could harness more moves like this, he could develop into a high-level attacker. His ability to make vertical runs into the channels and fashion shooting opportunites for himself could be developed as he has the dribbling ability, short area speed and strength to stretch defences and be a consistent threat running into the channels from the central spaces. For Pouso Alegre against America Mineiro in the Mineiro State Championships, Ebere proved his ability to create shooting opportunities for himself once again. He received a throw-in to hold off his marker, and swivel before surging into the box from the right channel to send a shot wide from a similar area that he scored the goal from the previous paragraph. Ebere has the potential to be a constant and more clinical threat from the half-spaces. Ebere would be deployed on the flank as in his career in Brazil, he has been utilized both through the centre and wide areas.
Ebere has the potential to be a high-level attacker not only because of his potential in possession but also because of his ability to effectively lead the pressure phase and counter-pressing phase because of his mobility. The 23-year-old would be defending the right wing in a 4-4-2 shape as a pass was played into his zone for him to cover the space and regain possession, laying off the ball to a teammate before he would chest down a lobbed pass and work a pass down the line to a teammate. He should have scored a goal when he received possession in his favourite zone on the right side of the opposition box to put his boot around the ball and send a strike wide off the far post as he was unable to properly guide the shot. He would regain possession with yet another interception on the right flank during the pressing phase to drive the ball forward. His hold-up play meshed with his ball-carrying exploits make him an intriguing counter-attacking conduit as he would receive possession in his own box from an opposition corner to hold off one marker before striding past another opposition player who put two hands on his shoulders and hauled the Nigerian to the ground. However, this was not before Ebere could work a through ball to a teammate in the channels to create a 2v1 attacking situation for his side.
At home to URT, Ebere was deployed as a central striker once again. He made a run from the nine-space to the left flank to receive possession, skip past an opposition defender and elegantly lob a pass into the opposition box for a teammate to squander a high-quality crossing opportunity. The Nigerian then received a deep pass in the nine-space to turn and spread the ball to the flank for a teammate. After a turnover, he received possession in the nine-space once again to turn, skip past one defender before shielding the ball from another defender to drive the ball forward and send a low shot past the keeper from range to open the scoring. He showed his penchant for immaculate hold-up play once more when he received possession in the nine-space to skip past a defender before spreading a pass to the opposite flank and making a run into the channel to receive possession and cut-back a cross which was just behind his striker.
In a game against the current champions of Brazil, Atletico Mineiro, Ebere was deployed on the flank once again. He received possession on the left to skip past his marker for a teammate to receive possession while the 23-year-old continued his run into the box as the ball was switched to the opposite flank for the Nigerian to find a pocket of space at the back-post for a blocked cross, further exemplifying his movement and sense of space. The attacker can fashion shooting opportunities not through 1v1 dribbling sequences but also through connections around the box as he received a throw-in on the right flank to hold possession and spread a pass to the flank before moving into the box to receive possession where he took a touch to skip past a man and had a tame shot blocked from the top of the box with his weaker left foot. He made an interception on the right flank to surge forward with possession, driving past two opposition defenders as he attempted to angle a run into the box where he was brought down but stood up to retain possession before being brought down as he laid the ball off to a teammate for a cross into the box.
The 23-year-old made another interception before skipping past his marker and driving the ball forward to have a shot blocked from range. He then rose high to knock-on a header for a teammate to run into the box and have a shot from a tight angle saved by the goalkeeper. Ebere is a special player because he can lead the pressure phase and win turnovers in the opposition half before driving the ball forward to connect with teammates while he can also create shooting opportunities for himself and teammates. Ebere is in the top 20 in expected goals and top 10 in expected assists in the Mineiro State Championship while he has the second-most attempted dribbles, is in the top 10 in dribblers per 90 while also being in the top 15 in dribble completion percentage. His low dribble completion percentage compared to the volume of dribbles is due to his dribbling style with him being more effective in 1v1 situations and less effective in dribbling past more than two players. He is second in key plays in transition as well as being in the top 10 in ball-carrying in transition according to the WyScout rankings database.
Ebere could develop into a high-quality central striker with his skillset as he will need to refine and develop some facets of his game. He is comfortable in receiving possession in the nine-space and turning with the ball to ease transition and drive the ball forward while he also has the strength to receive possession with his back to goal, holding off a defender to swivel and beat him to create a shooting opportunity for himself in or around the box. The 23-year-old prefers to receive possession and move the ball to the outside of his right boot to skip past a marker while using his body to hold off another marker as this is another manoeuvre where he uses his strength and ball-carrying ability to create shooting opportunities for himself. His combination play is excellent as he has a solid range of passing, he can threaten opposition defences with runs in behind and runs into the channels where he can connect play to string together opportunities for himself and teammates. The Nigerian can hold the ball-up with his back to goal while also making runs in behind as his positioning and movement in the opposition box is fantastic as well with him preferring to ghost into the box from the centre where he can make a near post run or pick a pocket of space at the back-post.
His preferred shooting position is from the right side of the box where he can wrap his foot around shots as he could clean up his finishing and be more clinical and diligent from this area. His dribbling ability also allows him to drive to the edge of the opposition box and create shooting opportunities from there as he could use more training to perfect his shooting in tight spaces after dribbling manoeuvres. He will also need to improve his first touch as it can be too heavy in tight spaces where he can lose possession and lessen his impact on games. Deploying him as a central striker could allow him to utilize 1v1 dribbling situations, shorter vertical bursts and timed runs in behind in order to be an effective and rapid attacking presence for a team while he can lead the press defensively. The Nigerian already has the tools that could be developed into him becoming a high-quality striker.
Pouso Alegre are a club that play solely in the Mineiro State Championships as Ebere is an undervalued gem on the transfer market as he has the potential to play in one of Europe’s top five leagues by his 25th birthday. A step-up to a club like Midtylland where he can harness his skills as a central attacking presence before joining Brentford would be a good move for him as he meshes with their profile of attackers. He could replace Deniz Undav at Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium as Oostende would be another club where he could develop. Clubs like Familicao, Santa Clara and Vizela in Portugal would also be good landing spots for the 23-year-old as would Toulouse who are on the cusp of the French Ligue 1. Reims would also be a good landing spot for him as would clubs like Bordeaux and many other clubs in France’s top two leagues while Zurich and Young Boys in Switzerland would be as well. The Austrian and German Bundesliga’s would also be a good move for his multi-faceted skillset as clubs such as Mainz, Stuttgart, Freiburg, Augsburg, Koln and Hamburg in the German Second Division. In Turkey, he could develop well under Francesco Farioli at Alanyaspor. Ebere could be an option for Eredivisie sides like Heerenveen as well as being a replacement for Lois Openda at Vitesse in the summer. Any club in the middle-rung of European football searching for an attacking presence should be actively looking for Ebere as he is a low cost, high potential gem on the market.
