According to reports, Willian Jose is linked with a mouth-watering deal to Newcastle United in the summer. Per The Sun, the Magpies manager Rafael Benitez is keen on bringing the striker to St. James’ Park arena once his side gets promoted to the Premier League.
Jose has seen the net 12 times in 27 appearances for La Real in across all competition this season and the Championship league leaders are one of the host of clubs showing strong interest in him, with Premier League sides Everton and Southampton also considering a move for this signature.
Any move to St. James Park would demonstrate serious intent as the Ex-Brazil youth international is expected to cost the Magpies around £27 million in the summer.
Therefore, the questions remains, who is Willian Jose? What quality would he bring to St. James Park? Football Weeks share with you a little bio about the Brazilian.
His Footballing Background
Willian Jose was born in Porto Calvo, Alagoas to José Valdemar da Silva, Edileuza Gomes family. He started his footballing career at local Clube de Regatas’ youth setup, before getting signed to Gremio Barueri in 2008, at age 17. Jose made his first team debut in the Brazilian Serie A in August 2009, by coming on as a late substitute in a 1-2 loss at Botafogo.
In January 2011, he moved on to Sao Paulo FC where he was always playing as a third choice striker behind the likes of Luis Fabiano, Osvaldo, and Dagoberto. He registered 66 appearances for the team in which he bagged 16 goals before joining Gremio two years later. However, things did not worked out as plan with his new side and after just registering 9 appearances with 3 goals in line, he was then shipped out to Santos 6 months later.
During his long-time season with Santo, he had a record of 5 goals in 28 appearances, before moving to Spain, where he bagged a six-month trial spell with Real Madrid in January 2014. At Bernabeu, he was playing for Real Madrid ‘B’ side and was impressive, saw the net 4 times from 16 games. He made his senior debut for the Los Blancos in May later that year in a 2-0 loss to Celta Vigo, but Real released him at the end of the season.
After his six months spell with Real Madrid, he continued his career by putting pen to paper on a one-year deal with Spanish side Real Zaragoza who were in the Spanish Segunda Division. Jose had a fairly brilliant season, from 38 appearances for Zaragoza, he scored 10 goals, before getting shipped out to Las Palmas in the following season.
In his debut season with Palmas, he once again shined, scoring 10 goals from 34 appearances which earned him a move to Sociedad last summer, where has bagged 12 goals so far.
Willian Jose Style Of Play
At 186cm tall, Willian is a strong and tall centre-forward who uses his skill well to hold up the ball and bring his teammates into play. Jose link-up play with his team-mates around him is a strong feature of his game while he is also skilled at playing defence splitting through balls with great accuracy. As an excellent finisher, he is a confident player who is not afraid to have a go at the goal from distance either.
Pretty much a typical all-round centre-forward, the only thing he is lacking from his stock is the defensive work rate, which is something that most managers expect from all of their players nowadays. However, it is something that can be worked upon if needed.
What Does The Future Hold For Willian Jose?
After quitting Sao Paulo, Willian Jose hasn’t stayed for more than a season at any of his clubs and it looks pretty much that he will continue the trend, with the likes of Southampton, Newcastle United, and Everton all chasing him.
If the Magpies end up signing him, it will be a huge statement of intent for Rafael Benitez side upon their return to Premier League, but that could also spark the end of Aleksandar Mitrovic’s time with Newcastle United.