Bruma Deal or no Deal?

Bruma Deal or no Deal?

By Stephen Kountourou 

As the season draws to a close for Olympiakos, preparations are beginning for the 2021/22 campaign for Thrylos to do it all over again in the league, the cup and Europe where they hope to be just as successful as they were this time around. As per usual the big talk every summer transfer, which new faces will arrive at the port of Piraeus? who will be bowing out to continue their careers elsewhere? Who needs time to develop and be sent out on loan, and the theme of this week's blog, who will be signing permanently after a season with the Greek champions? The answer to this last question at the time of writing could be Portuguese winger Bruma. 

After arriving on loan from Dutch giants PSV, the wide player with bags of pace has split the Thrylos faithful down the middle as to whether he should be signed permanently after having a decent if not mixed season under compatriot Pedro Martins and the Ethyrolefki. So for this week I will be taking a look at Bruma's season with Olympiakos, his highlighting his best moments, the moments he may want to forget and the fees that we currently know that have been discussed over the last couple of months and then give my thoughts as to whether a permanent deal would be worth it.  

How Bruma has Done this Season

At first glance Bruma's overall output for the whole season has been pretty solid for a player in his position, with 8 goals and 3 assists in 25 games which works out to 11 goal contributions and just under a goal involvement every other game in all competitions. He has also played 1,630 minutes according to Transfermarkt, which is the 14th most out of the whole Thrylos squad and this is despite only behind four other players in the top scoring charts for the club this season. 

 

Just from watching him regularly, Bruma definitely has the qualities that supporters have been crying out for on the right-hand side since Podence left in 2020 to Wolves. He has the pace to manoeuvre past opposing players with ease, create chances for more central teammates and even cut inside by himself to attempt a goal-scoring opportunity, in that sense he has been a fairly productive part of the team. Even when coming on as an impact sub this has been to the teams benefit, as Bruma can run directly at tired opponents when Olympiakos needs that extra attacking injection. In theory, this is almost a perfect fit. 

 

Where Bruma has fallen short this season has sadly been his consistent performances overall. While his stats would argue he has been consistent, when looking back at performances on the pitch there have been periods where he is almost anonymous for a couple game weeks at a time until he finally pops up with a goal or an assist calling into question as to whether Olympiakos might be able to find someone who is cheaper, and better. 

 

People forget that it was not plane sailing for Bruma when he first arrived at the club. After starting the season playing for his parent club in helping them through Europa League qualifying and competing in the first three games of the Eredivisie, the 26 year old was then sent out on loan to the Piraeus side. He made his debut on Match Day 2 of the Champions League Group stage against Porto with 20 minutes of the game to go where supporters saw flashes of what Bruma was capable of with his dribbling and burst of acceleration. 

He would then make his full league debut a few days later in the league against Apollon Smyrni. After a few weeks of substitute appearance, Bruma suffered a bit of a blow by suffering a muscular injury which ruled him out for over a month. Even after returning to fitness and the squad on the 13th of December he did not play again until the last match before the winter break against Lamia. This was where we properly got to see what Bruma was capable of, scoring and assisting in a 5-1 demolition of the relegation threatened side.  

 

The turn of the year saw Bruma feature much more with the wingers game time ranging from a mix of playing the full 90 minutes or coming on as an impact substitute with varying success. There were more incidences where Bruma missed a few games first through a non Covid related illness and then sustaining a further injury in early February which ruled him out for a few weeks. 

Even with these setbacks Bruma always seemed to be able to return and make an instant impact in games, it was only after getting more constant game time where his goal creation became more hit and miss. Even in the playoffs, the fast paced winger seemed to get most of his output when coming off the bench rather than starting, scoring 3 and assisting 1 in 5 games when coming off the bench, but struggling more when starting to impact matches and would eventually be subbed off. 

 

Most recently Bruma contributed to Thrylos reaching the Greek Cup Final against Lamia by playing 71 minutes and scoring to make it 3-1 and putting the tie more or less to bed. While it was a great performance overall there were still shades of a player who needs to work on his finishing, as there were two more clear chances to score and the winger skied both of them when in front of goal.

Possible Fee and Deals Involved

There are multiple options the Greek Champions could take if Pedro Martins give the green light to keep the Portuguese international in Piraeus. According to Transfermarkt Bruma market value is around 4.5 million Euros and it was previously stated that PSV sees Bruma's worth being closer to 7 million Euros. Both values in my opinion are not only the kind of fees Olympiakos would not play for one player in a transfer window, but despite Bruma being one of the better wingers brought in I would say he is not worth either of those fees. 

Even with the 2.5 million price difference between the two estimates, I would say the absolute maximum that Thrylos should sign him for is 3 million Euros which is around the benchmark we have seen the club sign players who they intend to start in the first team. There is a glimmer of hope for a smaller fee, however. PSV have more recently been rumoured to just want to get their player off the wage bill and are not as worried about the fee so much, which could be to Olympiakos benefit if they wish to sign him permanently. There is always the possibility of him coming back for a second loan if PSV wishes to keep him but allow him to fully find his form in a season not interrupted by injury.

Is He Worth it?  

Now to finish the question we must ask ourselves. Is Bruma worth it? With regards to the worth, PSV originally rated him as I would not say he is a 7 million Euro player nor should Olympiakos look to sign a player for that huge fee. There are a lot of positives to Bruma's game and every time he is on the pitch, he is gelling well with the squad and how the team plays. But for the inconsistency, if you tend to get over a longer period, it is hard to justify a large fee such as his original asking price. 

If PSV stays true to their word and says they just want to get him off of their wage bill, however, then the ball is in Thrylos park to negotiate a fee that suits both parties and bring Bruma back that way. As a supporter I would not be opposed to his return; it just has to be for the right fee. We have been able to get the best out of Bruma after his career stuttered a bit in Holland and with the player turning 27, he is about to enter his peak as a winger. 

If Olympiakos signed him permanently we could potentially get the best of Bruma as he hits supernova.    

Hellas Football 

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