Tottenham have struggled with their left-backs this season and have reportedly signed Souza from Santos to add depth and talent.
The Brazilian 19-year-old has not been announced as a new Spurs signing yet. However, a few pictures of him in the stadium during the defeat to West Ham this Saturday have surfaced online. It appears to be just a matter of time until the deal is made official.
Who is Souza and what can he add to Tottenham?
Career path
Souza made his professional debut for Santos in early 2024, with his side in the second tier for the first time in history. However, he played just nine games all year, only three of them as a starter.
He did receive more playing time in 2025, but initially as a back-up for Gonzalo Escobar. After the Fifa Club World Cup Break, he took the Argentine’s spot in the starting XI and enjoyed his first proper run of first-team football.
But it ended after a month and seven games, with a poor performance as Santos suffered a heavy 0-6 defeat to Vasco in mid-August. He was dribbled past three times and gave away a penalty that day.
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A managerial change also came after that and new boss Juan Pablo Vojvoda put him back on the bench. But it didn’t take longe for his talent to shine and force the manager to start him again.
Souza featured in the starting XI in eight of Santos’ last nine league matches to end the year as they succesfully avoided relegation. Not only that, but they did it by winning each of the last three 3-0. And the 19-year-old left-back was one of their best players in this period.
Playing style
Souza is very much an attacking-minded, traditional full-back. His natural tendencies are to charge forward hugging the touchline, almost like a winger. There is little refinement to his game in order to tuck inside and play inverted, but that could come over time.
He shows a lot of personality on the ball and never shies away from the game. This trait and his rawness may lead to him not assessing properly the possible outcomes of his actions. He can often make questionable decisions and try things that may not be appropriate.
But it’s never going to be an issue of not trying with him. He fights for every 50/50 ball and never gives up on the play. As a youngster with a bright future ahead, it’s easy to imagine Spurs fans getting behind him quickly and asking for more playing time.
As most attacking-minded Brazilians, he’s skillful and likes to show it, going at defenders quite often. His crosses aren’t the best (14% completion rate in the 2025 Brazilian Serie A). But the issue is mainly the floated ones – he makes up for it with good cutbacks.
At the back, he can often leave space behind due to his tendencies to go forward. Still, he’s got great work rate and will always track back, just maybe sometimes a little bit late.
When the team is sitting deeper, Souza is actually decent in terms of positioning. He is mostly well aware of his surroundings, not usually keeping opponents onside and knowing when someone is looking to attack the far-post behind him.
He is rather combative, which can be positive and negative at the same time. It’s not rare to see him charge at his man and concede take-ons. And sometimes he gets too distant from the nearest centre-back, leaving room for an opponent to run into the half-space.
But at 19 years of age, these are all things in which he can get better at. The will to learn is there.
Valuable signing for Tottenham
Tottenham have suffered a little with lack of depth down the left wing. Djed Spence, the first-choice, is right footed, while him, Destiny Udogie and Ben Davies have struggled to add to the team in the final third.
Maybe an attacking-minded, traditional left-back to hug the touchline and present himself as an option could be a refreshing change and add more options for Thomas Frank – or whoever is at the helm when he starts playing.
His addition to the squad could also help to balance things. Right now, Pedro Porro is basically the only right-back, since Spence spends most of his time on the left. Udogie has had his fair share of injuries and Davies has been more of a centre-back in recent years.
With Souza as another option on the left, Spence could move to the right and provide depth there. Porro has started each of Spurs’ last 13 games across all competitions, dating back to the 3-5 loss to PSG in the Champions League in November.
The Brazilian youngster might not be ready to make an instant impact, but circumstances may lead to him starting to play sooner rather than later.