With his top scorer Wilfried Bony off to the Africa Cup of Nations with the Ivory Coast, Garry Monk secured the services of Nelson Oliveira on loan from Benfica until the end of the season. Discussing his decision to acquire the 23-year-old, the Swansea manager admitted Oliveira has been on his radar for some time and will offer an alternative to fellow forward Bafetimbi Gomis in the Welsh side’s default 4-2-3-1 formation:
“I’m very happy to have signed him. He’s a very good player. His name came up in the summer, but for whatever reasons that did not happen, but we are delighted to have him here now. I’ve already said we needed someone with Wilfried going away and Nelson gives us another option. We were talking about diversity and different types of strikers and that is what Nelson gives us. He’s different from Wilfried and Bafi too, just as Bafi is different to Wilfried. He gives us options.â€
The History
A prodigious talent, Oliveira worked his way through the youth ranks at Santa Maria and Braga before making his way to Benfica as a 15-year-old back in 2006. Eventually handed his first-team debut in 2009, Oliveira has failed to make an impact at his parent club and has yet to score in 12 appearances for the Portuguese side.
Over the last few seasons, he’s been farmed out on loan with varying degrees of success. Temporary stints in his native country with Rio Ave (12 appearances, no goals) and Pacos Ferreira (31 appearances, five goals) were followed by a season-long spell in Spain with Deportivo La Coruna, where he served up four goals in 31 outings before returning to Benfica. Last year, however, Oliveira started to suggest that, given the pitch time, he could produce, after delivering eight goals and two assists for French outfit Rennes.
On the international stage, Oliveira racked up 26 goals in 70 appearances for Portugal’s youth sides but has found the step up to the senior side far trickier. Handed his debut in 2012, the six-foot-one frontman has netted only once in 14 outings.
The Prospects
Given that Monk tore up a brief flirtation with a 4-4-2 system in pre-season in order to accommodate Gylfi Sigurdsson in the support role behind a lone striker, it seems that, in Bony’s absence, Oliveira faces a direct battle with Gomis for pitch time. With a single league goal to his name in 526 minutes, the latter has struggled to find his feet in the top flight, though two goals and a pair of assists against Tranmere in the cup last weekend suggests that, with a consistency of minutes, he may deliver.
Indeed, despite reports indicating that Gomis could be subject to interest from elsewhere, his manager has insisted he has a major role to play in light of Bony’s departure.
“I can’t control players been linked with other clubs, but Bafi is a Swansea City player. With Wilfried going he is going to be needed, He is a top, top player. It has been difficult to give him game time with Wilfried playing so well, but Bafi has been great about it. He has not said anything and just wants to get on with things. He’s going to play a big part for us now.â€
Unfortunately for Oliveira, Swansea are now set to face West Ham, Chelsea, Southampton and Sunderland in the next four – pitting the Swans against some of the tightest defences in the Premier League. Even if he manages to find a way past Gomis in the starting XI, there are better options for our three-man frontlines in terms of upcoming fixtures.
However, yesterday’s turn of events have put an entirely different slant on our assessment of Swansea’s strikers. With champions Man City seemingly willing to meet Bony’s £30m release clause, the Ivorian could suddenly be out of the picture on a permanent basis. Not only would this leave spot-kick duties up for grabs, it would allow Oliveira and Gomis the chance to stake a claim in our three-man frontlines once the fixtures turn a little kinder.
If Bony leaves – and at the moment it’s all hypothetical – it remains to be seen if either of his fellow forwards can offer us the same sort of security in terms of goal conversion. Our recent Big Numbers article highlighted the fact that Gomis has netted just 3.8% of his chances and if he, or Oliveira, struggle to approach Bony’s 13.6% goal conversion, it could also have a knock-on effect on Sigurdsson’s assist potential – the playmaker will continue to create but needs someone to stick the chances in the back of the net with a degree of regularity.
Whilst Gomis initially seems likely to be handed the chance to impress, Oliveira’s prospects would certainly be handed a major shot in the arm of City do, indeed, acquire Bony. If the Frenchman continues to flounder in front of goal, the loanee could soon be fast-tracked up the pecking order and fire his way into our Fantasy plans. If Bony stays, though, it’s impossible to look past the Ivorian as the man most likely to make a difference for Monk’s side.
