Tottenham target Arthur Dias has now taken another pretty big step in his rapid rise, making his senior Brazil debut at just 19 years old.
The Athletico Paranaense defender came off the bench in Brazil’s 4-2 win over Australia on Tuesday.
It was only a short appearance, but it means Spurs are now looking at a senior Brazil international after trying to sign him during the summer.
And quite a lot has happened around the youngster since Tottenham had their offer rejected.
Eight minutes enough for a first Brazil cap
Carlo Ancelotti introduced Arthur Dias in the 86th minute, replacing Mauro Júnior.
With stoppage time included, the centre-back got around eight minutes on the pitch. He played on the left side of Brazil’s defence.
There wasn’t much time to make a huge impression, of course. The important bit was simply getting his first senior appearance.
Afterwards, Arthur Dias celebrated the moment on social media.
“Happy with my debut wearing the Brazilian national team shirt. Even happier with the team’s victory.”
He’s now made 32 appearances for Athletico this season and has also scored his first senior goal for the club.
Work permit should not be a problem now
Arthur Dias’ Brazil debut also puts the work permit question back into focus, although Tuesday’s friendly itself does not directly add GBE points.
Under the FA’s current rules, international appearances only really help through competitive senior matches in cases like this.
Fortunately for Tottenham, they probably wouldn’t need that route anyway. Brazil’s first division is currently classed as a Band 2 competition under the GBE system. Arthur Dias has also played a huge amount of football for Athletico this season.
That combination of league level and minutes already appears enough to put him around, or above, the 15-point threshold needed for an automatic endorsement.
So if Spurs do come back for him, getting permission to register him in England shouldn’t be one of the major obstacles. A future competitive appearance for Brazil would only make that position stronger though.
| Every Tottenham Hotspur signing 26/27 | Previous Club | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Sandro Tonali | Newcastle United | £92.5m |
| Mateus Fernandes | West Ham United | £85m |
| Sávio | Manchester City | £75m |
| Jan Paul van Hecke | Brighton | £52m |
| Tosin Adarabioyo | Chelsea | £7m |
| Marcos Senesi | Bournemouth | Free |
| Andy Robertson | Liverpool | Free |
| Martin Dúbravka | Burnley | Free |
| Cole Ramsey | Aston Villa | Free |
Tottenham’s early move looking interesting
As we covered at the time, Tottenham were watching Arthur Dias well before Ancelotti brought him into the senior Brazil setup.
Spurs sent scouts to see him in person in April and then made a €21m (£18.2m) offer for 80% of his rights during the summer.
Athletico rejected that proposal and were looking for around €30m (£26m). Tottenham were subsequently said to have promised further attempts.
Since then, the defender’s profile has only grown. Barcelona recently sent their head scout to watch him in person. English reports have also linked Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest and Brentford with him.
Tottenham remain the English club with the most concrete interest, having already put a substantial offer on the table. They didn’t get their man at €21m (£18.2m). Now none of that looks helpful if Spurs were hoping the next negotiation would be easier.
