A winner and a leader: meet Vitor Reis, Manchester City’s new signing

Brazilian central defender Vitor Reis, who has left Palmeiras to sign for Premier League giants Manchester City, is a winner and a leader.

A player who had also attracted interest from European champions Real Madrid, Reis has worn the captain’s armband for both the Palmeiras and the Brazil youth teams, playing a key role in a number of trophy triumphs. With his club, Reis won silverware at every age-group level as he rose through the ranks at Allianz Parque, and in the national set-up he tasted victory in the South American Under-17 Championship in 2023.

Given his shot in Palmeiras’s senior side last year, Reis grabbed that opportunity with both hands. Nobody could dislodge the 19-year-old from Abel Ferreira’s team - until, of course, he was inevitably snapped up by a European powerhouse.

Shone for Palmeiras after grabbing first-team chance

Last June, Palmeiras were already without Gustavo Gómez, who had been called up by Paraguay for Copa América duty, when central defender Murilo Cerqueira picked up an injury late on in a game against Fortaleza. With the team 3-0 down, Ferreira handed Reis his debut - hardly the ideal circumstances to be making your elite-level bow.

However, he impressed sufficiently to be given his first start days later, in a São Paulo derby against Corinthians, no less. Palmeiras won 2-0, and it was the teenager who sealed victory by scoring the second. Since then, he has been a fixture for the Verdão, playing 22 times and scoring a second time in a cup game against Flamengo.

What are Reis’s strengths as a player?

Among Reis’s qualities as a player, two particularly notable traits are his good positioning and tactical intelligence. He’s right-footed, but is capable of playing either as the right or left-sided central defender in a back four. What’s more, in several Palmeiras games he showed his ability to operate within a five-man defense, playing either as the middle or right-sided center-back. This versatility allowed him to remain in the side whatever the system, and has had a big hand in his smooth transition to first-team soccer.

Born in São José dos Campos, some 50 miles outside São Paulo, Reis also boasts outstanding technical ability on the ball, enabling him to distribute effectively from the back and serve as a useful launcher of attacks. With the ball at his feet, Reis has made it abundantly clear since his elevation to the Palmeiras first team that he’s just as at home spraying passes out from defense as he was at youth level.

When it comes to aerial duels and set pieces, meanwhile, Reis’ height - he’s 6ft 1in tall - makes him an important asset to the backline. He has something of a goalscoring instinct in the opposing box, which is why he has already been on target twice as a professional. His height doesn’t equate to reduced mobility, though, and his powerful running and long stride are a major asset when he’s battling for the ball with opposition attackers. Combining physical prowess and immense footballing talent, Reis is a complete defender who is ideally suited to the modern game.

Reis follows Real Madrid’s Endrick to Europe

In the Brazil youth set-up, Reis followed up victory at the South American Championship by captaining the Brazilians at the Under-17 World Cup in November 2023. Despite missing some major players, the Seleção went into the tournament as one of the favorites.

Reis started all five of his country’s games in Indonesia, where Brazil’s hopes of a fifth U-17 global crown were ended in the quarter-finals by a Claudio Echeverri-inspired Argentina. Echeverri, who has since also been signed by City, scored a hat-trick to eliminate the Verdeamarela.

In October 2023, Reis was included in UK newspaper The Guardian’s annual list of the top 60 young players on the planet, together with compatriots Endrick Felipe and Luis Guilherme. At the time, the trio were club-mates at Palmeiras. Endrick and Guilherme subsequently moved on to Real Madrid and West Ham, respectively - and it was only a matter of time before Reis was also on his way to Europe.

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