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Portrait 03 August 2021, 09:00

8 things to know about Jean Lucas

8 things to know about Jean Lucas
Here's all you need to know about the team's new Brazilian midfielder, who has just signed a five-year contract with AS Monaco.

A new recruit has joined the ranks of AS Monaco. After the arrivals of Alexander Nübel and Ismail Jakobs, it is now the turn of Jean Lucas join the Principality side. A midfielder who is a product of Flamengo’s academy and has also spent time with Santos, he joined Olympique Lyonnais in the summer of 2019. After scoring in his first Ligue 1 match, he spent 18 months with the Rhône club before spending six months on loan, without a purchase option, at Brest, between January and June 2021. Here is a portrait, in eight points, of this 23-year-old Brazilian player, who arrives from Lyon and has signed a five year deal with AS Monaco.

A modest upbringing

Born in Rio de Janeiro during the 1998 World Cup, Jean Lucas started playing football – like many Brazilians – on the streets of his hometown. Playing barefoot with other children, he wanted to win Otter Pops. He would go on to join the Nova Iguaçu club at the age of 8. But at 15, the death of his grandmother would upset him, seeing him skip training and being dismissed by his club.

Spotted at 17 by Flamengo

At that time, Jean Lucas then wanted to stop playing football. But thanks to the persuasion of his parents, he signed with Bonsucesso, in the tough neighborhood of Cidade Alta. Two years later, he was on trial at one of the biggest clubs in Brazil, Flamengo. His play was convincing and he joined the youth team at 17.

 

A former teammate of Vinicius Junior

When Jean Lucas joined the Flamengo youth teams, he worked alongside players now playing at the biggest European clubs. For example, he rubbed shoulders with Vinicius Junior, a regular at Real Madrid and with Brazil side, as well as his former teammate at Olympique Lyonnais, Lucas Paquetá.

A game focused on offensive play

A midfielder, he has a diverse style of play. While nominally a box-to-box player, he is full of running and has plenty of stamina, an characteristic requested in the game advocated by Niko Kovac. Jean Lucas also does not hesitate to invole himself offensively — thanks to his speed and his passing quality, he is able to easily break down opposing defences, as evidenced by his assist during OL’s friendly against Wolfsburg.

 

A first match in Ligue 1 and a first goal

After stints at Flamengo and Santos (48 matches played in total), the midfielder joined the Rhone club in the 2019 summer transfer window. He scored his first goal in Ligue 1, just three minutes after coming on in his first appearance in the French league, in what was a decisive win against Angers (6-0), on the second day of the 2019-2020 season.

Paul Pogba, his role model

With his rather tall and slender physique, his ball control and the fact of his always playing with his head up, one can say that Jean Lucas has similar characteristics to Paul Pogba. The French international midfielder is indeed the player on whom he models game. He would like to “do be like him on the pitch”. For that, he knows he needs to score more goals and work on his aerial play.

An old-school style

The Brazilian midfielder is know to sport a vintage style on the pitch. He has always played with his jersey tucked into the shorts. “When I was younger, my mom would put the T-shirt inside my pants to go out, whether it was going to church or the mall. So the day I started playing, I decided to wear the jersey inside my shorts, it looks more neat,” he explained to the Brazilian outlet UOL Esporte.

 

73 on Fifa, 75 on PES

On the esports side, Jean Lucas is rated a 73 with a potential of 80 on FIFA 21, but, he is more highly rated on PES 2021, with a rating of 75 and a potential of 87. Grab your controllers!

 

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