Scout Report: Matheus Nascimento set to be LA Galaxy's Number 9 Project in 2025
Why the LA Galaxy is looking to bring in 20-year-old Matheus Nascimento this season
Brazilian striker Matheus Nascimento is set to join the LA Galaxy, bringing his dynamic abilities and international promise to the MLS Cup Champions.
The 20-year-old is set to join on loan from Brazilian side Botafogo, according to GiveMeSport.com’s Tom Bogert. The deal is being finalized, and he will join the club via the U-22 initiative for the 2025 season. Nascimento has made 96 appearances for Fogo, where he has notched 12 goals and four assists.
The LA Galaxy has a glaring need at the striker position following the trade of Dejan Joveljic to Sporting Kansas City. MLS Veteran Christian Ramirez is reportedly joining the six-time MLS Cup champions, but LA still needs to think about the future of the position. The Botafogo striker could be the player that leads the next phase of Greg Vanney’s LA Galaxy.
How he got on LA’s radar
Nascimento has been a coveted prospect in Brazilian soccer for years. He made history by becoming the youngest player to debut for Botafogo in 2020 at age 16 years, 6 months, and 3 days. He’s also played in Brazil’s youth national teams at the U-15, U-20 and U-23 level.
Despite being just 20, Nascimento already had 96 appearances in Brazilian soccer and gained lots of experience with Fogo. The Rio de Janeiro side was relegated to Serie B in the 2020 season just as Nascimento began his career.
When the club made its return to the Brazilian top flight in 2022, Nascimento played in a career-high 37 matches across all competitions, where he scored seven goals.
During that time, Botafogo underwent an ownership change, with John Textor’s Eagle Football Group acquiring 90% of the club’s shares. The club began to invest more in the transfer market and acquire veteran players to reinforce the squad. Young players like Nascimento began to see less playing time as the club’s ambitions grew.
The 2024 season was successful for Fogo but not for Nascimento. The club won the league title (for the first time since 1995) and Copa Libertadores for the first time in its history. However, Nascimento played 25 minutes in Serie A and 19 minutes in the Libertadores. The young forward got the most playing time in the Campeonato Carioca de Futebol, the regional tournament that features clubs from the Rio de Janeiro area.
The growing ambitions of Botofago have left Nascimento struggling to get playing time at his boyhood club. The talent is still there but the club doesn’t have the patience for development. This situation makes moving to the LA Galaxy on loan more enticing - as he’ll be competing for a starting spot up top and looking to prove himself outside of Brazil.
Analyzing his Playstyle
Nascimento’s tapes show exactly why he’s been viewed as a top talent for years. The ball is a magnet to his foot. He’s got that dribbling flair and confidence to take on defenders in space. But he also needs to mature a lot in his game.
Unlike most traditional strikers, Nascimento is a very quick and shifty player who tends to drop deep to receive the ball. I view his playstyle as more of a false nine and more similar to Riqui Puig than Joveljic. His body is still developing, and he doesn’t have the level of physicality to be a back-to-goal forward just yet in his career.
He’s better at combining in the middle third of the pitch than in the final third, as he tends to dribble past defenders or find space to get a shot off. His combination play with wingers or box-crashing midfielders needs to be more consistent but can definitely improve if he played in a Vanney system - where patterns of play help improve combination play for forwards.
Nascimento excels in open spaces or in one-on-one situations with defenders. He’s going to beat defenders with his pace and tricky dribbling. The young Brazilian needs to improve his decision-making and get into better spots in the box to become a lethal forward. The tools are there, but he needs to make progress to become a killer in front of goal.
Closing Take
Nascimento is going to be a project player for the LA Galaxy should his loan be finalized. He’s a raw talent who’s not gotten enough playing time in the last few years to take the next steps in his development. The fact LA is looking for a loan instead of purchasing him tells you that they are not 100% confident about being tied down to a young Brazilian for the next few years.
His flashy tendencies will bring the ooos and ahhs to Dignity Health Sports Park, but his tendency to try to dribble past defenders may give fans a headache if he’s losing the ball often. Vanney has a proven track record of making young players better and putting them in positions to take advantage of their strengths while also developing new wrinkles in their game.
This is a low-risk, high-reward addition for the LA Galaxy. The Galaxy needs to find a striker for the next few years, and the Nascimento project could give LA some answers.