Hugo Félix: Following in the footsteps of his brother at Benfica – More talented in João’s eyes

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Talents Calendar 

On April 14, 2019, Hugo Félix was in the spotlight of the cameras at the Estádio da Luz for the first time: Pizzi’s cross, João Félix’s right-footed shot, goal for Benfica – in the 53rd minute, the then 19-year-old scored the goal to make it 3-1 against Vitória Setúbal (4-2) and celebrated it with his four-year younger brother, who was standing behind the goal as a ball boy. In the near future, Hugo Félix himself could be on the pitch with some of his brother’s former teammates.

Just a year after João, Hugo Félix also joined Benfica’s youth set-up and the footsteps of the €127.2 million departure have not been too big in the youth set-up so far. The 17-year-old is proving to be just as capable of scoring goals. While João scored a total of 15 goals in 26 matches in his first U19 season, Hugo, who also wears the captain’s armband and already picked up experience in the U23s, has already scored 11 goals in 13 matches.

Talents Calendar 2020: Here is how the players have developed

Juan Cabrera | Germany | Market value: –

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Schalke’s Juan Cabrera was listed as Uruguayan in last year’s Talents Calendar. Since then he has opted for Germany.

Pipi Nakai | Japan | Market value: –

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Pipi Nakai has made the next step at Real Madrid and is now part of the reserve team. But he is still awaiting his debut in Spain’s third division.

Bradley Fink | Switzerland | Market value: –

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Youssoufa Moukoko’s footsteps were not too big: Bradley Fink has been scoring consistently for Dortmund’s U19 side.

Alejandro Iturbe | Spain | Market value: –

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Alejandro Iturbe is slowly being integrated into Atlético Madrid’s first team and has already made the bench once.

Ramen Cepele | Albania | Market value: –

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Ramen Cepele has struggled with some smaller injuries but nonetheless has already featured for Hannover 96 II in the Regionalliga.

Turan Calhanoglu | Germany | Market value: –

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2021 has been a year to forget for Turan Calhanoglu. Hakan Calhanoglu’s cousin struggled with injuries all seasons long.

Kelvin John | Tanzania | Market value: €100,000

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“As soon as I turn 18, I will move to a big club“, said Kelvin John last year. Promise kept, the forward joined KRC Genk ahead of the season.

Bikash Yumnam | India | Market value: €100,000

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Bikash Yumnam continues his dream of moving to Europe. But it has been baby steps for the RoundGlass Punjab FC defender.

Simon Ngapandouetnbu | France | Market value: €150,000

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Born in Cameroon Simon Ngapandouetnbu has opted for France and is still awaiting his debut for Olympique Marseille’s senior team.

Seong-jin Kang | South Korea | Market value: €225,000

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Seong-jin Kang has not just become a regular starter for FC Seoul but an important first team player.

Kluiverth Aguilar | Peru | Market value: €300,000

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That Kluiverth Aguilar would move to Europe was already certain last year. Signed by Manchester City, the right-back is currently under contract at Lommel SK, which also is part of the City Group.

Xavi Simons | Netherlands | Market value: €500,000

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For Xavi Simons the last season was a mixed back. First close to the first team, the talented attacking midfielder has been ignored by Mauricio Pochettino and is currently considering a transfer to another club.

Tommaso Baldanzi | Italy | Market value: €600,000

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Tommaso Baldanzi led FC Empoli’s U19 to the championship in the Primavera and is now part of the first team.

Marcelo Flores | Mexico | Market value: €600,000

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Mexiko, Canada or England: For now Marcelo Flores the talented midfielder has opted for Mexico’s U20 but it is expected that Flores will await a final decision as Canada remains in the mix to secure the services of the 18-year-old.

Ömer Beyaz | Turkey | Market value: €1 million

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In Ömer Beyaz another talented player found the way to the Bundesliga. The 18-year-old Turkish talent has joined VfB Stuttgart.

Patryck | Brazil | Market value: €1 million

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U17 world championPatryck is part of FC São Paulo’s first team but for now still without a game.

Louie Barry | England | Market value: €1 million

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Former Barça talent Louie Barry has made his debut for Aston Villa but is currently on loan at Ipswich Town.

Loizos Loizou | Cyprus | Market value: €1.5 million

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Loizos Loizou has already won his first title with Omonia Nicosia but a transfer to a bigger league has yet to materialize.

Hannibal Mejbri | Tunisia | Market value: €3m

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Hannibal Mejbri is the third player in the calendar to switch national teams. Previously with France, the Man United talent has since made the switch to Tunisia.

Luca Oyen | Belgium | Market value: €3m

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Luca Oyen continues to collect playing time with the first team but has struggled to show the sort of consistency he displayed last season.

Caden Clark | USA | Market value: €3.5 million

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Not surprising Caden Clark will join RB Leipzig this winter. This year the 18-year-old played his first full season with New York Red Bulls with whom he was eliminated in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Ísak Bergmann Jóhannesson | Iceland | Market value: €4.5 million

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Ísak Bergmann Jóhannesson has made the next step in his career and has joined FC Copenhagen.

Arsen Zakharyan | Russia | Market value: €9 million

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Arsen Zakharyan has developed into a top talent under head coach Sandro Schwarz at Dinamo Moscow and is one of the most important players at the club.

Yusuf Demir | Austria | Market value: €12 million

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Yusuf Demir has fulfilled his wish and joined FC Barcelona where he has already made his debut for the first team.

His abilities and performances earned Hugo Félix his first professional contract at Benfica in July 2020. “If he listens to those who want to help him, he will be successful,” João Félix told the club’s TV channel BTV, admitting that his brother is definitely more talented than him. “He does things that I couldn’t do at his age. He has everything to be good and make it to the first team. For his age, he works a lot.”

Talents Calendar - Hugo Félix

Hugo Félix, like brother João, wants to play in a way that “excites the spectators”

His skills have caused astonishment time and again, such as last May when he left the entire defence of the U17 team in the dust after a solo run against FC Porto (4-0). “He is very dangerous in front of the goal for a midfielder. He is fast, has a very good overview of the game – his technique and ball control are outstanding for a 17-year-old. In addition, he has a good shot,” TM user and Benfica fan Gaitan10 describes the skills of the youth international. “He reminds me a bit of his brother João.”

Hugo Félix also plays in the attacking centre, but usually as a number 10 – a bit deeper than his brother. His drive to score goals if possible, however, is just as strong. “We both like to score goals. He shoots better free kicks than I do, I’m better at penalties,” João explained. “But we both play more or less the same positions. (…) Since we were little, we’ve watched each other play and tried to do the same things.”

Gavi, Moukoko & Co.: The most valuable players born in 2004

11 Shola Shoretire – Manchester United – Market value: €3m

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As of November 29, 2021

11 Vinicius Tobias – Internacional – Market value: €3m

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7 Andreas Schjelderup – FC Nordsjaelland – Market value: €5m

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7 Matheus Nascimento – Botafogo – Market value: €5m

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7 Giovani – Palmeiras – Market value: €5m

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7 Sávio – Atlético Mineiro – Market value: €5m

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6 Julio Enciso – Club Libertad – Market value: €5.5m

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5 Kaiky – Santos – Market value: €6m

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4 Ângelo Gabriel – Santos – Market value: €7m

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3 Mohamed-Ali Cho – Angers – Market value: €10m

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2 Youssoufa Moukoko – BVB – Market value: €18m

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1 Gavi – Barcelona – Market value: €25m

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TM user Gaitan10 also sees parallels between the brothers in terms of weaknesses and potential for improvement. Hugo Félix, he says, has problems in “aerial duels, he’s small and could improve a bit physically.” At least in terms of physicality, something has visibly changed in recent months. But the Félix brothers would much rather thrill the spectators with their style of play anyway. “In football, you just have to play, but we want to do something different, something that excites the spectators, and we have some things in common,” João said.

From December 1 to 24, we introduce new players from different countries born in 2003. Area managers, users, and data scouts come into play as experts throughout the series. You can follow all those players by adding them to your TM watchlist.



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