WHAT A STAGE! FLAMENGO IS LAST IN THE DEARMES RANKING AT LIBERTADORES; CHECK OUT

With the final stretch of the 2024 season approaching, Flamengo faces an important challenge after the injury to Pedro, who suffered a ruptured ligament in his left knee. The club's vice-president of football, Marcos Braz, stated in an interview with "Fla TV" that he will discuss with coach Tite and his committee the possibility of seeking a new reinforcement to make up for the striker's absence.

The Flamengo see you next time Tuesday (stipulated deadline) to regularize any player who may play for the team this season. However, the options available are limited, as only athletes without a contract can be signed outside the transfer window. Braz highlighted the difficulties in finding suitable names on the market.

"The window is practically over, and the restrictions are enormous in making a signing at this time. After the window closes, it is only possible to sign players who were already without a contract before closing. This greatly reduces the options", explained the manager.

Despite speculation about possible hiring, Marcos Braz highlighted that The red and black squad already has alternatives for the position. Flamengo has, in addition to Gabigol, who must take responsibility in the attack, other players who can perform the role, such as Carlinhos and Bruno Henrique, who can also be improvised as a center forward.

"We have three players who can play in this position. Gabigol has always solved our problems, we have Carlinhos and Bruno Henrique, who can play the role of 9. We will analyze calmly until Tuesday and decide what is best for Flamengo", concluded Braz.

Pedro's injury was a hard blow for the team, not only because of the impact on performance on the field, but also because of what it means behind the scenes. With a deep and talented cast, Flamengo tends to maintain its competitive level even with absences, thanks to a full bench. However, Pedro's departure raises the question of how the club will fill this gap.

Rumors about possible international reinforcements began to circulate quickly, with names like Memphis Depay, Martial and Mariano Díaz gaining prominence in the press. However, Flamengo's board is taking a cautious approach. According to information from UOL, two main factors are guiding the club's strategy: the performance of the players already available and the budget situation.

Firstly, Flamengo is evaluating the ability of its current players to cover Pedro's absence. Among the possible replacements, Gabigol, Bruno Henrique and Carlinhos are mentioned as viable options. These players have a history of good performance and familiarity with the style of play Flamengo, which could facilitate adaptation and minimize the impact of Pedro's injury.

In addition, the club's financial situation is a crucial point in the decision. With more than R$329 million invested in recent signings, Flamengo has already committed a significant part of its budget. This amount is just a little below the R$360.9 million spent in 2019, when President Rodolfo Landim made large investments. The high financial burden of previous signings implies a more restrictive management of available resources.

Flamengo's board also faces difficulties in relation to the sale of players, which further impacts the budget. Negotiations for transfers of Wesley and Fabrício Bruno did not progress as expected, resulting in a lower than desired performance in player sales. This limits the club's ability to invest in new reinforcements, especially in a competitive market.

Allan has not yet managed to win over Flamengo fans and criticism is frequent. The numbers show the basis for this, as the midfielder has difficulty being combative and does not seem to add much to Tite's team when he enters the field. Just to give you an idea, Luiz Araújo, who is an attacking player, has made more tackles than his teammate in the last seven games of each.

Allan comes in frequently, and has been on the field in seven of the last ten Flamengo games. During this period, he played 338 minutes, but only made four tackles. In other words, he needs 84.5 minutes to make a tackle. Despite the average, there were only two games managing to make tackles. Three happened in one match, while one tackle was left for another game in that count.

In the last seven games for Flamengo, Luiz Araújo appears to be a good player comparison parameter. The athlete plays wide on the sides, but despite being part of the offensive sector, he helped the team with 27 tackles in his last seven games for the club. The average number of tackles is overwhelming.

There are 3.8 tackles by Luiz Araújo per game, a sum much higher than that of defensive midfielder Allan, who had an average of 0.5 tackles per game. The disparity is impressive, but more due to the positioning of the players.

It's not just in terms of seven games that Luiz Araújo is superior. In the Brasileirão, the striker also has a better average than the midfielder. There are 1.6 tackles per game. Allan, in turn, makes a tackle 1.2 times per game. Luiz's number of matches is just a little higher.

In the competition, Luiz Araújo entered the field 22 times in the 24 rounds played by Flamengo. Allan also appears quite frequently, playing 19 games, just three less than the attacking player.

Passed over by the fans, Allan sees the Nation asking for Léo Ortiz to continue in his place. The defender played a few games in the position and was enchanted. Tite took a while, but he began to take the requests into consideration, and against Corinthians, he preferred to improvise the defender as a midfielder rather than putting Allan on the field. However, the player came on in the second half.