Talles Costa – Sao Paulo’s multi-functional attacking conduit
Talles Macedo Toledo Costa was eerily close to losing his life at birth as he and his mother faced complications in labour as the 18-year-old keeps this in mind as he approaches his football career and life. At a young age, he would play football in Dubai at school level for an academy that his father was playing for before returning to Brazil and beginning to play Futsal at SACI. By the time he was 9, his exploits at a tournament garnered interest from big clubs before he would join Sao Paulo at the age of 10. He received consistent call-ups to the Brazilian U17 side as 15-year-old while he is thriving at U20 level as an 18-year-old.
Gabriel Sara is a multi-functional attacker who is able to fill roles in midfield and attack as he is clever at receiving possession in tight spaces, connecting play while being able to create and score goals. However, Sao Paulo signed Sara to a long-term contract towards the end of last year as Talles Costa is cut from the same cloth. The 18-year-old is described as an attacking midfielder but has shown an ability to play as a left-winger, central attacking midfielder as well as a box-to-box midfielder. He can also receive possession in the six-space and work passes through the lines from deep as if clubs are priced out of a move for Sara, Talles Costa could be a worthy alternative. Even if Sao Paulo decide to sell Sara, they have an in-house replacement, developing with the youth side.
Talles Costa’s idols are his father who has been present in his career and constantly advised him as well as the great, Ronaldinho as the teenager is embarking on a pivotal time in his career. He has been so talented and ahead of the curve at youth level that Sao Paulo rewarded him with a professional contract in his mid-teens in 2018 as his contract will be running out in 2022. An ability to operate in between the lines, receiving possession and connecting play or instigating attacking plays with line-breaking passes from deep while also being able to challenge fullbacks in 1v1s in the wide areas have made him stand-out at youth level in a variety of roles as some of the giants of world football would be on alert because of his contract situation.
Against the Coritiba U20 side, he started the game on the left flank as he worked a one-two with a teammate to cut-back onto his right foot and lob an accurate cross to an attacker in the box who had a poor first touch. He would then receive possession on the flank, taking a touch, holding the ball for a moment before threading a through ball to a teammate in the channels who had a shot blocked for the rebound to be saved. The 18-year-old would also tuck inside to receive the ball in the eight space, turn and look to ease transition for his side as when he is in the central positions, he loves to engage markers and play line-breaking passes to teammates in the pockets before continuing his runs to receive possession and work combinations in the opposition half.
He would drop deep to receive possession in the six-space before attempting to lob a pass to an attacker in behind as the opposition centre-backs intercepted it as he would receive possession again in the eight space to thread a pass to the striker in the nine space. In the second-half, he would move into the six-space to demand possession from the centre-backs and spread play with accurately pinged switch balls and intuitive line-breaking passes. He would also show his ability in regaining possession when pressing from the centre as the goalkeeper rolled a ball to an opposition midfielder for Talles Costa to push up and regain possession by getting in between his opponent and the ball to regain possession for his side to break.
He received possession in the six-space in the opposition half to delicately feather a pass into a teammate in the ten space as the weighting and accuracy of his passes through narrow passing lanes is exemplary. He consistently manages to be a player who can progress play as well as develop into a high-volume chance creator with his ability to work connections in between the lines, through ball passing as well as his ability to cross from the wide areas. The 18-year-old would stretch his legs to regain possession with a timely challenge before working a one-two with a teammate in between the line and spread a pass for a teammate in space to have a shooting opportunity on goal.
At home to Flamengo U20 side, he played as an attacking midfielder, moving to receive possession in the half-spaces while also facilitating transition by dropping to receive possession in between the lines. He would receive possession from the flank to thread the ball past four Flamengo defenders to the winger in the channels as he may have put too much weight on the ball as the winger was unable to play a first time cross and had to chase the ball to the by-line. He would generate shooting opportunities for teammates by receiving possession on the left flank to prod the ball forward with the outside of his right boot before executing step-overs and threading a pass to a teammate at the top of the box to curl a shot that was tipped wide by the goalkeeper. He would win an interception in the pressing phase as his side were dropping into medium block, but he shuttled a cross to intercept a pass.
Talles Costa would also show his skills in the deeper areas as he would drop into the six-space to receive possession, swivel and skip past his marker to poke a pass to the right-back before receiving possession in the six-space again to poke another pass into the next line and continue his run into the eight space to receive possession again and spread the ball to the left flank for the winger to have a crossing opportunity. In that move, the 18-year-old received the ball three times to evade pressure with his distribution and movement before creating an opportunity for the winger to have a high-quality cross which is yet another dimension to Talles Costa’s game. He would have another sequence where he received possession in the eight space to work a one-touch lay-off for a teammate before continuing his run as the ball was played to the nine-space for the striker to lay-off to him as the teenager would attempt to poke a through ball in behind for the winger.
He would repeat the trick in an extraordinary fashion, dropping to receive possession in the eight space, turn to drive the ball forward with his right foot before playing a pass to a teammate in the ten space with his left and surging to receive possession in the left half-space to roll the ball back to maintain possession while five Flamengo defenders surrounded him to beat them by threading a pass to a teammate in the nine space. Talles Costa would also prove crucial in regaining possession by dropping to make tackles as in one situation he made a perfectly timed sliding challenge to regain possession and put his team in a breaking situation.
At home to Operario PR, Talles Costa would receive possession on the left flank by the touchline, standing his marker up as he prodded the ball forward by the touchline as he teased his marker into lunging at the perfect moment for the 18-year-old to skip past him and drive the ball forward to work a pass to the nine space for the attacker to lay-off into the half-space. He would then tuck inside to receive possession in the left half-space, turn and thread another ball for an attacker dropping deep to play a pass for the striker. He would connect play in the final third again when he would allow a bobbling pass to roll across him to poke a one-touch through ball to his overlapping fullback. He would show tremendous grit to regain possession in the opposition half, engaging in a shoulder to shoulder battle with an opposition player before intercepting his pass to a teammate and driving towards the edge of the box to have a shot blocked.
Talles Costa is an intriguing young player because he offers his side tactical variety in a plethora of his positions as he has a multi-faceted skillset to seamlessly adapt to many roles. His ability as a press-resistant force in midfield is integral as he can connect play by weaving out of pressure to shift play into spaces in the final third or working combinations in between the lines to attract pressure and move into space. As a left winger, he can always cut onto his right foot to provide wonderful deliveries with his passing and accurate deliveries while his 1v1 dribbling is fantastic. His game is so mature that in the final third, he can work the pass into teammates to create space for them to assist teammates as he is an incredible progressive passer and through-ball player.
His contract expires in 2022 as Sao Paulo may wait till his early appearances with the first-team before deciding to extend his contract as this could give a mid-level European team the opportunity for a bargain. Ajax would be the perfect side for him with a growing Brazilian contingent as he could play with Jong Ajax while he settles before being promoted to Ajax 1 as they would also hone and develop his technique and multi-functional abilities. The teams that were interested in Gabriel Sara would also be advised to take a look at Talles Costa as he is a cheaper and younger player of a similar profile. In the next year, Talles Costa could begin to make inroads into the Sao Paulo first-team or become a bargain buy for a lucky side.
