For a boy from Brazil, moving to Birmingham may seem a culture shock.
Alysson — full name Alysson Edward Franco da Rocha dos Santos — headed to the Midlands at the start of January and was met with snow, ice, sleet and rain. Birmingham’s city centre is not quite the Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro.
But it will not feel completely alien to Alysson, who grew up in Apucarana, a municipality in the south of Brazil, where a tropical climate means that while temperatures are much warmer in general, residents are accustomed to high rainfall and cold winters.
It is why Alysson, according to those close to the 19-year-old, who have spoken on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, has taken the early weeks at Aston Villa in his stride.
Some team-mates have noted the teenager’s pace and power in early assessments of the new signing and been impressed. With the assistance of the club’s player care team and his family, he has found a home, started learning English and generally adjusted to a new life.
Alysson playing for Gremio in the Brazilian club’s younger academy age groups (Photo: Magno and Jessica Edward)
This, of course, is magnified when he has been tasked with impressing manager Unai Emery, who was prepared to assess his early training sessions before deciding what the next six months looked like for the new signing.
In many respects, Alysson’s formative years were that of an ordinary child from Brazil raised in the late 2000s and 2010s. His idol was, and is, the former Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and 128-cap Brazil forward Neymar. After school, he would spend much of his time playing video games and, perhaps more unexpectedly, proved a deft hand at snooker. He has always lived with his father Magno, mother Jessica and two younger sisters, Ana Julia and Ana Livia.
He could be quiet with those outside his immediate orbit, yet coaches rarely doubted his robust character. Alysson had the pace, trickery and guile of a footballer brimming with confidence, even if that was not reflected away from the pitch.
Those close to him admit that Alysson’s precociousness meant he did not, and could not, have a normal childhood. He joined Gremio’s academy aged nine in 2015, having played the previous three years for local side Massareto Project Football. The man who spotted him playing, Fabiano, was a youth-team coach at Gremio who fast-tracked his entry to the club from the southern city of Porto Alegre.
Alysson in his early teenage years (Photo: Magno and Jessica Edward)
Positional fluency empowered Alysson early on. He was growing and occasionally gangly during his teenage growth spurt. Those developmental stages are often a critical time for young players and coaches; maturation means a young person’s body can evolve and change, potentially and briefly altering a player’s key traits.
Alysson was a soloist at heart with a low centre of gravity — becoming taller and slightly awkward threatened to mask those raw strengths.
Alysson celebrating Gremio’s victory in a tournament for the best teams in the south of Brazil (Photo: Magno and Jessica Edward)
Rather than drop deeper on the pitch, as can be the risk for young forwards who experience a sudden growth spurt, Alysson continued in attack. Junior football tends to be positionally loose, but Alysson had freedom to play on both flanks and through the middle. He swiftly rose through the age groups and started playing two years above his level.
Alysson signed his first professional contract in May 2022. The initial contract length was three years, before another renewal took him to 2028.
Villa’s chief scout, Alberto Benito, is Emery’s eyes and ears outside of his immediate first-team orbit. Benito’s is arguably the opinion Emery trusts most, having worked together at Almeria, PSG and Arsenal.
Benito is tasked, alongside head of recruitment Bryn Davies, with filtering a longlist of targets, before presenting them to Emery. Work from Villa’s data and scouting team identified Alysson’s progress in Brazil; Benito is the figure who either approves or vetoes a signing after further assessments.
The winger became aware of Villa’s interest at the start of December, with Benito having attended two Gremio fixtures: Cruzeiro at home and Corinthians away.
Benito was also monitoring Cruzeiro forward Kaio Jorge. The 23-year-old fit the profile Villa wanted, but, like other clubs scouting him, there were questions over his price and his previous experience in Europe when playing for Juventus and Frosinone in Serie A.
Alysson captained Gremio’s younger teams (Photo: Magno and Jessica Edward)
Benito offered his opinion to Villa’s wider recruitment team, with Alysson earning his recommendation. The next job was convincing Emery, who has the final say on signings.
Emery spoke to Alysson, watched footage of him and noted that while his goal output was lukewarm at best — one goal in 34 league appearances since his first-team debut in July 2024 — he had the tools to exploit his potential within his system. He sanctioned Alysson’s acquisition, with Villa agreeing a fee worth €12million ($14m; £10.5m) plus a 10 per cent sell-on clause and putting in place a programme for his integration. This included housing, transport, setting up a bank account and ensuring Alysson’s family and representatives could be in England during the early weeks after his move.
The hope is Alysson’s signing is the start of an emerging trend at Villa. Sporting director Roberto Olabe has a track record for using overseas scouts, identified as an area that could improve Villa. Having more people on the ground in high-potential countries would enable the recruitment team to lay the groundwork for young players from an earlier age. Arsenal, for instance, have three scouts in Brazil.
If Alysson’s signing turns out to be a success, such methods will only continue to be encouraged.
Alysson experienced his first taste of Villa Park on Sunday against Everton, waving to supporters as he walked up and down the touchline.
His arrival may help fill one of Villa’s key areas of weakness, considering they spent the first half of the season without an archetypal wide player. This is because Leon Bailey — who has similar characteristics to Alysson, including his ability to hold width on the right but make out-to-in runs and onto his stronger left foot, as seen from the Brazilian below — was loaned to Roma.
There is an acceptance, however, from multiple staff members, that Alysson is raw and will need to work. The onus is on Emery and his individual coaching staff, such as Albert Carbo and Rodri, to raise his floor.
Staff believe Alysson has the ingredients to be effective in the top flight. His physicality has come quickly and is therefore not regarded as an issue, while his pace is among his standout attributes. Compared to wingers in Europe’s top five leagues, Alysson ranks in the top two per cent for fouls drawn and top 11 per cent for take-ons. Direct, talented dribblers are important to Emery’s attacking patterns.
Here, Alysson receives the ball midway in his own half and drives forward.
The move ends with a slide pass into the striker, having dribbled into the opponent’s box:
The example below stems from an initial carry from Alysson, before he plays a perfectly weighted through-ball with his weaker foot.
Admittedly, these occurrences have been sporadic, but they do offer an insight into the youngster’s potential.
Out of possession, Alysson is an enthusiastic presser who has room for growth. He ranks highly across several off-the-ball metrics, including tackles. This should serve as a positive starting base.
Even though his early training sessions at Villa have been a step up from Gremio, his intensity and physicality are not expected to be an issue.
The first impressions from Alysson have been extremely favourable, too. A small injury caused a slight disruption, but he has been delighted by the standard and attention to detail he is receiving from coaches, particularly in one-on-one sessions after group training.
On his arrival, the plan was for Alysson to spend the next six months adapting to Emery’s methods, English football and a new country. He has started to learn English and, while the intention was for him to contribute this season, pre-season is when Alysson is expected to step up and fully acclimatise from Brazil to Birmingham.