Three years in the shadows, then one night in Quito
Palmeiras were 3-0 down and looked finished in the Copa Libertadores last October. The second leg against LDU Quito changed that, and it changed Allan’s career.
The right-winger pulled the Ecuadorian defence apart. He cut inside his marker in the 19th minute and crossed for Ramon Sosa to glance in, then won the penalty that sealed a 4-0 win with 22 minutes left. Palmeiras went through. Allan was 21 at the time and one of the lowest-paid players in the first-team squad.
Manchester City are now reportedly close to signing him for £34 million. He turned 22 this year.
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What the numbers say about him
Allan is a left-footed right-winger who wants the ball at his feet. He has attempted 4.98 dribbles per 90 minutes in the Brasileiro this season, tenth among all players with 600 minutes or more, and he has done it across 1,553 minutes, considerably more than all but one of the nine players above him. His success rate holds at 55.8%, twelfth of the 69 players with at least 30 attempts.
The take-on numbers get better still. Allan has 16 instances of beating more than one opponent in a single run this season, four clear of anyone else in the league. He ranks eighth for progressive carries of ten metres or more, with 72.
The final third is thinner. His 1.27 open-play chances created per 90 leaves him outside the division’s top 20, and his 12 goal involvements since the start of 2025 have been bettered by four Palmeiras team-mates alone. His combined non-penalty expected goals and expected assists sit at 0.21 per 90 over that span, tenth among Palmeiras players with 500 minutes or more.
Why City looked past the output
Abel Ferreira has used Allan everywhere down the right, including at right-back against Inter Miami at the 2025 Club World Cup. That flexibility is the sell.
“I just think these teams want a player like Allan because he does what 90% of the wingers here can’t, which is to attack and defend all along the flank,” the Palmeiras coach told reporters after the recent win over Vasco da Gama.
His 57 possession recoveries rank ninth among nominal forwards and wingers in the league, and his 1.7 tackle attempts per 90 place him thirteenth in that same group, this from a player at a side averaging 51.3% of the ball.
City need width after Savinho left for Tottenham and Omar Marmoush moved on, and Pep Guardiola is no longer in the dugout either. Whoever inherits Allan gets a 22-year-old who spent his entire youth career being told he was the third-best prospect in the room.
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