Fulham suffered yet another relegation from the Premier League after a disappointing campaign last time out. It was a relegation that looked on the cards all season.
Fulham will now have to regroup under new boss Marco Silva as the Londoners look to bounce back. It will be Silva’s task to do this at the first time of asking.
At the core of this will be Silva rebuilding Fulham in his image and at the centre of that his player acquisition. After bringing in Liverpool starlet Harry Wilson and ex-Spurs ‘keeper Paulo Gazzaniga, Brazilian starlet Rodrigo Muniz is touted to be the third arrival at Craven Cottage.
Em Lisboa, Spindel e Braz, dirigentes do Flamengo, em reunião com um dos empresários de Muniz, iniciaram os trâmites necessários para oficializar a venda do atacante ao Fulham. O jogador fará uma parte dos exames no Brasil antes de viajar para se apresentar ao time inglês.
— Venê Casagrande (@venecasagrande) July 30, 2021
Brazilian journalist Casagrande writes that Flamengo directors Spindel and Braz had met with Muniz’s representatives. The reason for this was “to begin the necessary steps to make official the sale of the striker to Fulham.”
What is know about Rodrigo Muniz?
In truth, very little. The 20-year-old started out at youth side Desportivo Brasil before being picked up by Brazilian giants Flamengo. Their home ground is the iconic Maracana Stadium.
The youngster was loaned out by Flamengo last year, spending a month at fellow Brazilian side Coritiba. He was promoted from the Under-20s at Flamengo into the first-team set-up in March this year.
After six appearances (one goal) for Coritiba, striker Muniz has made 24 appearances for Flamengo, scoring five goals and adding an assist. 19 of these appearances, four goals and that one assist have come in Brazil’s top-tier competition, Serie A.
What will Muniz bring to Fulham from Flamengo?
Above all, what Rodrigo Muniz will bring to Fulham is one thing – promise. The young Brazilian has promise and potential and Marco Silva will be tasked with developing that.
The above graphic (use courtesy of smarterscout) provides a snapshot of some of the areas where young Brazilian Muniz rates highly. Scores are out of a FIFA-esque 99 maximum and he scores highly on ball retention (89) and attacking output (91).
However, and bearing in mind he only played limited minutes last season, Muniz has perfect ratings of 99 for shooting and receiving the ball in the opposition penalty area. He also scores very highly with a 98 in his ability to disrupt opposition play.
Digging deeper, website fbref gives a little more detail to what Fulham fans might expect from Rodrigo Muniz. Last season he played nine games in Serie A, scoring three goals from open play.
Looking at his per 90 returns (looking at expectations over a typical 90 minutes) and certain traits stand out. He scores 0.77 goals per 90 but it is his work rate that is impressive.
In his nine appearances, he was in a position to take 22 shots at a rate of 5.64 per 90 with an impressive 2.56 shots on target per 90. So, he works his way into a lot of shooting positions and has a high number of shots on target.
Thoughts – have Fulham unearthed a gem?
Is Rodrigo Muniz a diamond or a diamond in the rough? A polished gem or an unworked project? His performances must have been of some note. Inter Milan were credited with an interest in him at one point earlier this month.
In a way, you can argue that Marco Silva and Fulham are getting a player that they can ease into a Championship campaign. His stats suggest that on the end of someone like Harry Wilson he could blossom.
His strike rate of 0.70 goals per 90 would suggest a full-season return of 32 goals if he played every minute. Looking at it conservatively, Fulham should expect 10-15 goals from Rodrigo Muniz.
A star now? No. However, with Fulham signing him now they have a star of the future on their hands.
