Manchester City’s new Brazilian winger Allan Elias says he is determined to settle in quickly at the Etihad, insisting his background in futsal has equipped him to play across the front line – and even in midfield. He made this known as he bids for a regular place in Enzo Maresca’s rebuilt squad.
The 22-year-old completed a move from Palmeiras this summer in a deal worth up to £34.2m, becoming one of six fresh faces to arrive at City before the transfer deadline. He joined Elliot Anderson, Geronimo Rulli, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Jeremy Monga and Pierce Charles who already started their lives at Etihad Campus.
Elias reveals his versatility and positions he can play
Elias, formerly of Brazilian side Figueirense before his breakthrough at Palmeiras, believes the small-sided game he grew up playing shaped the technical instincts that now allow him to operate comfortably in more than one role.
“I had good years of futsal. Until I was 14 years old, I played futsal so I think that helped me a lot when I migrated to the field.
“I am a winger, I play on the sides. I can play inside too, as a midfielder but I play on the wing. My strength is dribbling, my style of playing, I have strength and I believe.”
That flexibility has already been noted by observers of his time in Brazil, where he was deployed in a variety of roles – including, on occasion, as a wing-back – during Palmeiras’ title-chasing campaign.
It is a trait City’s recruitment team is understood to have valued highly, with the winger viewed as cover across several positions rather than a like-for-like replacement for departing Brazilian compatriot Savio, who left for Tottenham Hotspur.
Backed by Viana, settling into life in Manchester
Much of the groundwork for the move, Elias says, was laid in conversations with City’s director of football, Hugo Viana, whose reassurances helped smooth what could otherwise have been a daunting step into an unfamiliar footballing culture.
“I did talk to Hugo [Viana]. He gave me all the tranquility and comfort to get to Man City. He said I’ll have time. So, the conversation I had with him was very good and made me very comfortable. I’m very focused on adapting here,” he said per City Xtra
“Learning how much faster English is the language here. So I believe I’m very focused on adapting as quickly as possible. Because when I adapt, I’ll be able to play good football. I arrived recently and couldn’t keep up with everything.
“I’m still in that moment of a lot of attention, I couldn’t see much, but I sure will. I’m going to walk through the CFA, I’m going to try to visit everything and the city too. I’ll try to walk around the city a lot to get to know as much as possible.”
Meanwhile, Elias arrives at a City side reshaped significantly under Maresca since he replaced Pep Guardiola, with more than £230m spent this summer alone.
The head coach has already shown a willingness to blood new faces quickly, and with Savio gone and further departures, including Omar Marmoush and Nico Gonzalez. This reduces City’s attacking and midfield options, opportunities should present themselves for a player capable of filling more than one role in the squad.
