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It is not every day that Real Madrid spend €50 million on a defender unless they feel that the player has what it takes to wear the shirt of the Los Blancos.
Eder Militao yesterday was confirmed as a Real Madrid player after the Los Blancos paid the buyout clause of the 21-year old Brazilian, making him the first signing under Zinedine Zidane since his return back to the club. Militao will be third Brazilian youngster to have signed by the Los Blancos under the Frenchman after Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, who will be joining the club next year.
Eder Militao was born on the 18th of January 1998 in Sertaozinho municipality of Sao Paulo in Brazil and joined the famed Sao Paulo Academy in 2010 aged just 12. The Brazilian quickly went up the ranks of the youth teams and even made an appearance for the U-20 side in 2016, aged 17.
A year later, the promising Brazilian debuted as Militao started in the opening day 1-0 defeat against Cruzeiro in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A on the 14th of May 2017. The debut season for Militao saw him making 22 appearances and scoring two goals for the club, his first professional goal coming against Vitoria.
The second season with Sao Paulo saw Militao making 35 appearances and adding another 2 to his goal tally before Portuguese giants FC Porto came calling for the then 20-year old defender last August.
The Brazilian made his debut for the Dragons on the 2nd of September 2018, starting in a 3-0 win against Moreirense. The same month saw Militao making his debut for Brazil in a 5-0 victory against the hosts the USA.
A versatile footballer, Militao was used as a centre back during his time with Sao Paulo (his best position according to the Brazilian manager Tite, himself and his father) but has been used as a right back and a right wing back at Porto to accommodate Pepe in the heart of the defence, pairing Felipe in the centre back positions.
A ball playing defender, Militao likes to bring out the ball from the back even under very high pressure and averages 2 dribbles per game in the Primeira Liga dribble. The defender also averages 3.5 tackles per game and has a good average of 3 aerials duel victories as well as 2 interceptions per game in Primeira Liga. His speed, positioning, anticipation and his aerial prowess make the 21-year old one of the best up and coming centre backs in the world right now.
With Real Madrid being defensively poor this season, Sergio Ramos past his peak and backup Nacho failing to replicate his form in the last few seasons, the arrival off Militao will be a welcome boost for the Los Blancos.
