Nelson Oliveira: Scout Report

He has also been likened to Zlatan Ibrahimovic- and there surely are certain similarities. The Portuguese also possesses exquisite ball control in tight spaces like the Swede. However, unlike the PSG man who plays like an old fashioned centre forward, Oliveira stays on the move, often moving out wide to receive the ball enabling him to run at players. Oliveira may not be a classic poacher, but his distributive abilities are more than useful in a national team that relies on the provision of a goal threat from its wide players.

Oliveira has the capability of both exciting fans and frustrating them. In the appearances he has pulled for the French side, he has given away the ball more often than not, showing his vulnerability of not being able to hold on to it with ease. Built to a formidable 186cm and 82kg, one feels he should be able to act as more of an attacking reference point than he does. Standing tall at 6 ft 2 inches, the Rennes player does not even produce the best headers.

From the 0-5 victory against Toulouse. He won none out of his 5 headed duels.via squawka.com

He also needs to work on his finishing. With the chances he has had in a few of the matches this season, a seasoned striker would have three to four more goals to add to that tally of seven. Oliveira is not a tested player. However, Rennes is the only club where he has actually started 10 games. This is the testing season for the Portuguese as he will have a lot of games to work on all the aforementioned drawbacks in his game. Coach Philippe Montainier understands this and has the patience and faith to let the Benfica loanee develop further bloom into a complete player.

Overall, Oliveira is a player in development. He is skilled, but not polished. He showed the world what he is capable of in the Under-20 World Cup and after the spectacular start he has had to the season, it is assured that this is going to be the campaign where the Portuguese can come out of his shell and thrive in the opportunities given to him.

Quotes:

“He is a player of promise and all-round ability. He has pace and knows how to work the space. He is very good technically, but also athletic.”

— Philippe Montanier, Rennes Manager, via ESPN

“With 7 goals in just 10 starts for Rennes so far, Oliveira has been something of a revelation for the Breton club. Philippe Montanier evidently saw something in him that he liked from his time with Deportivo la Coruna and he has been proved right. His only regret might be loaning the Portuguese instead of buying him outright as I am sure other clubs will already be looking at Oliveira. He is an attractive prospect who boasts impressive technique and unerring consistency in front of goal with an eye for sublime finishes. Along with Foued Kadir, he has been keeping Rennes in mid-table and already looks to be a key player. The challenge for Montanier will be keeping him at the Stade de la Route de Lorient past the end of this season, unless they can secure eventual European qualification. Having Oliveira at the tip of the attack instead of Mevlut Erding has been an improvement, but the rest of the side around him struggles at times. He is the prolific striker that Rennes have been missing since Asamoah Gyan in 2009-2010. If they can secure Oliveira long-term, Montanier can build a strong team of young and vibrant talent around him.”

— Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip), French journalist for ESPN, Bleacher Report and French Football Weekly

Although his goal scoring record looks good Nelson Oliveira still has a lot learn in his first season with Rennes. He has shown good instincts to score the majority of his goals, but has enjoyed a huge slice of luck too. Although his finish against Marseille showed some great finishing ability. Too often he has gone missing in games and failed to bring his teammates into play, and often Makes the wrong decision. He is still young and has time to develop into a good player. Time is on his side.

— Andrew Gibney (@Gibney_A), Editor, French Football Weekly