Defender | Monaco & Porto | Brazil

Skinny

Voted the best left-back in Brazil’s Serie A back in 2016, Monaco’s Jorge is a talent who has been recognised for his impressive exploits at both domestic and international level already during his short career.

Part of a new breed of Brazilian full-backs, the left-sided defender recognised as the best in his position at the 2015 U20 World Cup a year prior to his domestic award, the Rio de Janeiro-born starlet has clearly made a mark on the game at a young age, though 2018 was perhaps his biggest learning curve yet.

2018 has been…

Joining Monaco in January 2017, Jorge did manage to establish himself in Leonardo Jardim’s side, though it was always going to be a difficult year at the Stade Louis II. Indeed, after winning the Ligue 1 title, their side was ripped apart just a few months after the South American’s arrival and a relative struggle ensued out in the French province.

Les Rouges et Blancs finished 13 points behind Neymar’s PSG and, largely, Jorge’s impact on the side suffered because of a bruised knee injury that kept him out of action between the end of January and the start of March.

A player usually noted for his excellent crossing ability from the left-hand side, he was only able to record a single Ligue one goal and no assists during the calendar year and, while judging a young defender on such criteria alone may seem harsh, it’s a fairly disappointing return for a talent who was strongly linked with a move to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City just a few months earlier.

Clearly, moving to Europe was always going to be a big step up in the player’s development. However, he was unable to truly get going in either 2017 or 2018, albeit there were mitigating circumstances out of his control.

Part of a Monaco reaguard able to only keep three clean sheets during the first of 2018, he was shipped out on loan to Porto over the course of the summer after another knee injury ended his season back in April.

Considering the Portuguese giants’ record in nurturing burgeoning talent from South America, it was an exciting move at the time. However, much like the story of his Monaco career, it’s been a struggle at the Estádio do Dragão.

Having only featured twice for the club’s B team so far this season, the excitement in which he arrived on to this continent has all but evaporated now, as is seen by his current standing in the national team’s pecking order.

Capped by the Selecao at the start of 2017, he’s not figured in Tite’s thinking since, making it a difficult period in the young man’s career.

What’s Next?

Despite his difficult year, Jorge certainly has talent, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him bounce back from this, hard as it may be to see right now. Considering the importance full-backs of such quality have taken on in the game as a whole of late, there certainly is every chance he’ll be able to act on the potential shown at youth level for his country and initially for Flamengo.

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