Did CSKA find the “new Fernández” in Brazil? They charge one and a half times cheaper than the player costs!
Anatoly Romanov August 28, 2023, 07:00 Moscow time
Kelven drives from Atlético Paranaense to Vladimir Fedotov.
CSKA has the third signing in the summer of 2023! After Pakhtakor midfielder Abbosbek Fayzullaev and León striker Viktor Davila, the red and blue sign another legionnaire. The new right-back for Vladimir Fedotov’s team will be the Brazilian Kelven. During this window, the army team failed to return Mario Fernandez, agree on the transfer of Alexei Sutormin from Zenit and other potential newcomers to this role, but at the end of August they still resolved the issue. As the “Championship” learned, in the near future the 22-year-old player will fly to Russia and sign a four-year contract.
Dávila debuted in the worst game of the military team in this championship:
CSKA has the worst game of the RPL season. Miraculously we didn’t lose to Orenburg in the last seconds!
As reported by the Brazilian media, CSKA fought for Kelven with Benfica. Apparently, the military team made a better offer to Atlético Paranaense. According to Globo Esporte, the operation will be worth 4.5 million euros, while Transfermarkt values the right-back even more: 7 million euros! Perhaps the low price is due to the fact that the player’s contract with the Brazilian club expired in the winter of 2024.
Kelven signed for Atlético Paranaense at the age of 17, so his entire professional career as a right-back to date has been associated solely with the Curitiba club. He made his debut with the first team in May 2019, at the age of 18, in a match of the Brazilian Championship against Corinthians. Kelven became the first footballer born in the 21st century to play for Atlético Paranaense. In that 2019 season, he participated in eight games and immediately won the trophy in the adult category: the Brazil Cup. In addition, in two finals with Internacional, the young defender started at the base. The beginning of his career was promising, and the guy even became a candidate for the youth team of the country.
But Kelven’s progress still did not turn out to be fast. He became a starter and then left it. In the 2021 season, the right-back won the Copa Sudamericana with the team (an analogue of the Europa League for clubs from this region), but consistently entered the field only in the group stage, and after the first playoff match, He sat on the reserve and did not play again. The final against RB Bragantino, won 1-0, was also seen from the bench.
Kelven (left)
Photo: Heuler Andrey/Getty Images
It wasn’t until 2022 that Kelven became a solid player in the foundation of Atlético Paranaense. He participated in the successful campaign of the Curitiba team in the Copa Libertadores (similar to the Champions League). Atlético Paranaense reached the final, where they suffered a disappointing 0-1 loss to Flamengo. Gabigol scored the winning goal right from the area Kelven was supposed to be responsible for. The future newcomer to CSKA played all 90 minutes of the final.
In the 2023 season, Atlético Paranaense with Kelven reached the Copa Libertadores round of 16, but in the first round of the playoffs they lost on penalties against Bolivian Bolívar. Obviously, this ruling, which occurred about three weeks ago, contributed to the sale of the right-back. In the Brazilian championship, the Curitiba team is not in the lead at the moment either: it is in sixth place, but it is only five points behind the second.
This season in Serie A, Kelven is among the top 5 Atlético Paranaense players in terms of time on the field: 1002 minutes. He is second in crosses (14) and third in crosses (18) and steals (16). At the same time, the martial arts statistics won by Kelven are not at all impressive: according to SofaScore.com, only 48% of successful martial arts.
In general, the ability to assist is one of the strongest points of this right-back. Kelven is quite productive: he gave 22 assists in 164 games with Atlético Paranaense. And he doesn’t have many goals, only seven. Good speed qualities and the ability to win one on one will make the Brazilian a valuable figure in CSKA’s attack.
Kelven played most of his matches at the professional level under the legendary Luis Felipe Scolari. The young player was very grateful to Felipe for his trust. “Scolari gave me a chance and I did my best not to give my spot to anyone,” Kelven said.
Now the talented Brazilian must prove to Vladimir Fedotov that he is stronger than Milan Gaich and Kirill Glebov. Without a doubt, the Atlético Paranaense right-back is being bought as a base to add quality to the winger. Kelven can form an interesting link with the Chilean Dávila.
