Why Norwich signed Gabriel Sara, a Brazilian midfielder known as The Astronaut

May 11, 2024

Norwich City have worked towards this moment for a long time.

There could have been more straightforward deals, more obvious targets, but as Gabriel Sara arrived on Thursday, underwent his medical and completed his move on Friday, those inside the Championship club allowed themselves a moment to feel accomplishment and excitement at making a little piece of history.

The 23-year-old midfielder joins from Brazilian Serie A side Sao Paulo on a four-year deal with the club retaining an option of an additional year.

Norwich had set out to secure his services on a season-long loan including an obligation for them to make the move permanent should they achieve promotion back to the Premier League. However, Sao Paulo’s immediate financial needs meant that strategy was always unlikely to prove successful.

So Norwich signed off on a permanent transfer that in Brazil has been reported as being worth £11million ($13m) to Sao Paulo, with another £2m in potential add-ons and a 10 per cent sell-on clause inserted in the deal. An initial £6m has been paid to the Brazilian club up front, with the rest due in 12 months.

If correct, those figures would make Sara the club’s record buy, although Norwich are keen to cast doubt over those reports and that suggestion.

Either way, his signing does effectively represent the entirety of their summer 2022 transfer budget.

Sara becomes Norwich’s first Brazilian player. (This assumes we’re discounting 1998-99 Chelsea loanee Paul Hughes, whose mother was Brazilian but whose playing career did not take him further south than a season with Southampton. Likewise, Edward Laxton, who made 16 appearances from 1920 to 1921 and was, according to the book Canary Citizens, born in Brazil while his engineer father was working there.)

A work permit in England for Sara would not have been possible under pre-Brexit rules, which restricted the signing of players from outside the European Union. Equally, Brexit means Norwich are unable to repeat their recruitment strategy from German and Spanish second divisions that helped sporting director Stuart Webber transform the squad and deliver Championship titles in 2019 and 2021.

Sara is the fruit of the latest strategy, which includes two new South American scouts — one based in Sao Paulo — and a partnership with Brazilian Serie A club Coritiba, which is where Sara went on trial as an 11-year-old before his father decided Sao Paulo, an hour’s flight to the north, were a better option.

The midfielder also arrives with expectation, and on relatively big wages.

Some inside the club believe he could prove to be the best player in the Championship next season and may even become a bigger hit than their previous South American signing (via a spell in Spain), Argentina international Emi Buendia.

However, Norwich supporters also know from bitter experience why you only start to judge a player once they have taken to the pitch in your club’s shirt.

Sao Paulo supporters love their “astronaut”, as Sara has been dubbed. Not that the origins of his nickname would suggest it.

The story goes that Sara’s start to his professional career was inauspicious enough for fans to state that if he was a footballer, then they were an astronaut. Fortunately, Sara got better. But the nickname stuck.

Sara is now seen as “the jewel of Sao Paulo”, a player who beat his late physical development and an apparent lack of self-belief to catch the eye in the state’s 2019 Junior Cup, and then as a professional in their 2021 Paulista Championship success — a regional competition akin to Norwich beating every club in East Anglia.

That success earned him a contract that ran until 2024, and in the time since Sara’s stock has continued to rise. He has now made 70 Serie A appearances for Sao Paulo, scoring nine goals and recording six assists after making his debut as an 18-year-old.

The midfielder has appeared in the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana: South America’s equivalent of UEFA’s Champions League and Europa League respectively. Both are crucial tournaments to appear in if a player wants a work permit to come to England.

So what sort of player are Norwich getting?

Scouting reports picked out Sara’s high technical level, as well as the quality and power of his left foot.

He has shown the versatility to play numerous positions. At youth level, he was a defensive midfielder but has mostly featured on the left of a midfield pair, as part of a 4-2-4 or 5-2-3 formation, or on both the left and right of a three in a 4-3-3.

Let’s bring in Sara’s pizza chart, which is driven by smarterscout data to give players ratings from zero to 99 based on either how often they complete a given action compared to others at their position (these include link-up play volume, which measures how good they are contributing to their team’s attacking build-up) or how effective they are (such as how well they progress the ball upfield).

We have gone for central midfield as Sara’s position. However, it should also be noted a sample size of 727 minutes when deployed in that role is relatively small.

The above chart shows Sara finds space in the penalty area and supports his strikers (a perfect rating for receptions in the opposition box), but he can also move into the wide areas and half-spaces to receive early passes from deep, and operate as an attacking outlet by carries and dribbles (71/99) or linking up with team-mates (50/99), receiving the ball and connecting play in space with one-touch passes in between the lines.

Sara is strong in the air (aerial duels quantity: 83/99) too, and does his fair share of defensive duties, as indicated by his defending impact (71/99) and intensity (48/99) ratings.

A prime example of his aerial abilities came with this goal against 4 de Julho in June last year in Brazil’s equivalent of the FA Cup.

Sara times his run perfectly…

…then produces an unstoppable header.

Sara was playing in a midfield pair that night, emphasising the quality of his run from deep, but there is a caveat — visitors 4 de Julho play their football several tiers below Sao Paulo and went on to lose a match that was the equivalent of a League Two side visiting a Premier League one 9-1.

When Sara gets it right, though, he can be special against anyone.

This next goal is from a 2-0 Serie A win last November away to Palmeiras, who would win the Copa Libertadores final less than two weeks later and then took Chelsea to extra time in February’s Club World Cup final.

On this occasion, the Norwich new boy is playing on the right of a midfield three.

Sara is comfortable picking the ball up in wide areas like this, on either side of the pitch. Here, the ball is played forward and he breaks powerfully into space.

It would not take much scouting to realise that in such a situation, Sara wants to cut back onto his left foot. He achieves that early enough to catch out the covering defender, though…

…then uses the space to curl a wonderful long-range shot into the far corner.

What is enticing from a Norwich viewpoint is Sara’s service to his forwards, which fits the pattern that served Teemu Pukki so well while Buendia was at the club.

Let’s go back to that hammering of plucky but outclassed 4 de Julho.

Here, Sara is fed the ball as Sao Paulo counter-attack.

He is given three seconds unchallenged in possession, before looking up and playing a perfectly-weighted ball up to his striker…

…who was onside, but fluffed the chance to make it 5-1.

Pukki would back himself to do better there, and also from this chance in Sao Paulo’s 2-1 Copa do Brasil quarter-finals win away to Flamengo of Rio de Janeiro in November 2020.

Playing on the right of a nominal 4-4-2, Sara is given the ball…

…and does well to turn inside ahead of his marker, then register not only where the two forwards ahead of him are positioned, but also their intentions.

He splits the defence and gets an assist on the game’s opening goal.

The movement from midfield and runs from deep that Sara brings are elements Norwich lacked in the Premier League last season. His left foot can also be trusted at corners and free kicks.

There is also plenty to be improved upon for a player who only turned 23 late last month.

This move, coming in a 3-1 away win over Club Jorge Wilstermann of Bolivia in a Copa Sudamericana group match in April, sees Sara being deployed down the left.

His first touch sees him flick the ball forward and his powerful running then takes him clear. He has plenty of team-mates in support as he approaches the penalty box…

…but opts to cut the ball back rather than play a low cross through the six-yard box, where the striker would be onside if it was played and have a better chance of scoring.

However, the move is still a good example of Sara’s physicality when he drives with the ball at his feet.

The key issue now is what head coach Dean Smith has planned for Sara.

Norwich approached this transfer window looking to recruit a No 6 and a No 8 before dealing with pursuing replacements for players allowed to leave following their latest relegation back to the EFL. Having signed Isaac Hayden on loan from Newcastle as their new No 6, Sara represents the second half of the equation.

Norwich began looking into the South American market following football’s suspension because of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 and Sara has been considered a serious target since this February, which was just in the nick of time given he hasn’t played since late April because of an ankle injury in that Wilstermann game.

“This is one of the big things when moving to the Championship and onto the Premier League; the league football here is slow,” Jon Cotterill tells The Athletic.

Cotterill is a South American football expert based in Sao Paulo and the author of Anatomy Of A Football Scout, a 2021 book which includes a contribution from Norwich’s head of emerging talent Mariela Nisotaki.

“He looks strong but there has been a lack of durability. I just wonder how he might cope with the rigours of the Championship and having less time on the ball. If you watch some of the cup football here, it is a lot faster, but still not as fast as the Championship.

A young Sara (right) celebrates with his Sao Paulo team-mates after scoring against Santos in 2020 (Photo: Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images)

“I looked at him as a scout when he came on the scene in 2019. It’s not like he is a major star here, even in Sao Paulo, but he had a good season last year and they’ve always liked him. Consistency is the missing thing but he has played some decent games.

“I would never consider him a box-to-box player but Norwich will have done their homework and see how he can fit into their side. He’s 23, so he has got time to develop and I’m sure Norwich are planning to take his basic tools and improve them.”

The intensity and tactical level of Brazilian football can be deemed comparatively low at times by those scouting in the country. Sara can lose possession, but he also takes risks in attack. What he will find an immediate step-up with Norwich compared with playing back home is the work he will be required to do out of possession.

All of those factors will shape how Smith, his assistant Craig Shakespeare and first-team coach Liam Bramley plan for Sara’s arrival.

The good news is his past and present coaches only have good things to say about him, from his willingness to work hard and stick to his tactical instructions, to his dedication to the team cause and disciplined approach to his job.

Norwich’s live scouting will not have been helped by Sara’s injury issues, which has contributed to him completing 90 minutes eight times in his 15 appearances this season.

Sara had been in regular action until initially damaging his right ankle in a 1-0 loss to Palmeiras on March 11. After a month out, his comeback lasted four matches before a tackle in the above game against Wilstermann tore ligaments in that same ankle.

He needed surgery and was ruled out until September, but was back running last month and had been pencilled in for an August return to the pitch.

While some may question his robustness, he is said to be the player at Sao Paulo with the greatest capacity for a swift recovery.

Sao Paulo were nervous the issue would scupper their hopes of the player sale they needed. Their financial issues had piled pressure on them to arrange at least one $10million (£8.5m) departure. They rejected a $10m bid from MLS side FC Dallas in January, hopeful of finding a better deal in the current window.

Negotiations were lengthy, and hard-going.

Sporting director Webber happened to be in Curitiba, 400km (250 miles) south west of Sao Paulo, earlier this month to discuss Norwich’s new strategic partnership with local Serie A side Coritiba. It is safe to assume he also made the trip up to Sao Paulo during his stay to work on the deal for Sara.

In the end, it was Webber who relented, as Sao Paulo made it clear any transfer would need the money to be forthcoming quickly, rather than waiting on whether Norwich win a third Premier League promotion in five years next May.

This move to England will represent success for Sara’s Brazilian representatives, who were dealing with initial interest from Barcelona when he first broke through — and ensured that interest was known to the public.

As for Norwich, they feel they have uncovered something special and that it is due reward for their scouting work in South America. That said, it would be naive to assume clubs of similar stature, as well as bigger ones, were not also aware of Sao Paulo’s better players, Sara included.

“I know some supporters have complained the fee is a bit low but it’s a competitive market, the pound is relatively strong, and Sara is at the upper age for it being his first time in Europe,” Cotterill says.

“Arsenal have just bought (19-year-old forward) Marquinhos from Sao Paulo for £3million, so the fee for Sara does feel on the heavy side, but if he does well, it quickly becomes a bargain.”

Sara will need to adjust from a city twice the size of even London in terms of population, and fifth-biggest on Earth, to the quiet life in Norfolk. To help with that, Norwich will ensure he has a Portuguese speaker around him in his early days around the club to help him understand his new surroundings and communicate with people inside and outside the club.

“Living in Sao Paulo, a 24-hour city centre with millions of people, and going to Norwich… yeah, it’s going to be a culture shock,” Cotterill says. “But you have got so many extra benefits living in the UK than you do here. You won’t have to worry about being kidnapped or shot at, for example!

“When Michael Beale (recently named manager of Championship side Queens Park Rangers) was here (on Sao Paulo’s coaching staff in 2017), I interviewed him; and during that time, somebody came out of Sao Paulo’s training centre and was held up at gunpoint.

“For Sara and his family, it’s going to be great.”

If Norwich and Sara make this move work then, whatever the risks, it will have been worth it.

(Top photo: Silvio Avila/Getty Images)

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