Tim Vickery analyses Vasco da Gama's latest Premier League export and outlines what Bournemouth fans can expect from the talented teenager who grew up idolising Cristiano Ronaldo.
Earlier this week a Brazilian TV show had a look at candidates to fill Brazil’s up-for-grabs No 9 shirt. There were twelve in all and one of them was Rayan.
The player himself would appear sceptical. His best chance of crashing into the World Cup squad would be to stay at Vasco da Gama and have another season like the one of 2023, his breakthrough year, when he ended the campaign as the fourth-highest scorer in the Brazilian league.
Instead, the 19-year-old is playing the long game. He has leant on the advice of team-mate Philippe Coutinho, and has opted to join AFC Bournemouth. Current financial problems make it hard for Vasco to turn down a big-money offer. But the key driver in this move was the preference of the player, who even took a financial hit (reportedly reducing his own stake in himself from 30 to 20 per cent) in order to push the deal through.
He is aware that moving to England’s south coast will - temporarily - lower his profile in Brazil. But the current crop of players have grown up with the Premier League. He has seen that Bournemouth have a fine record in the transfer market, buying players, developing them and selling them on to bigger clubs. That is the journey that Rayan is hoping and expecting for himself.
Following Coutinho's lead
The example of former Liverpool star Coutinho shows very clearly that he can always return to Vasco one day. It seems more than likely. The Rio de Janeiro club is in his blood.
His father, Valkmar, was a centre-back with the club, a squad member of the excellent team that Vasco fielded towards the end of the 20th century. His mother worked at the club. Rayan grew up in the narrow streets around the Sao Januario stadium, and came up through the Vasco ranks from the age of six.
A clip of him aged 11 has become famous. He was with Vasco’s biggest legend, 1978 World Cup centre forward Roberto ‘Dynamite,’ who was praising his talent and giving him advice on how to progress.
What kind of player is Rayan?
The skinny kid has developed into a strapping youth. Rayan is an imposing physical specimen. The physicality of the Premier League should hold few fears. He was a stand-out player all through his rise through the ranks, and has represented Brazil at Under-15, Under-17 and Under-20 levels. A club with a recruitment system as effective as that of Bournemouth would have been aware of him well before he was crowned as the revelation of the 2025 season.
Comparisons will obviously be made with Bournemouth's recently departed star Antoine Semenyo, but there are significant differences. Rayan is less of a dancing-footed winger, and more of a powerhouse striker. In 101 games for Vasco, many as a substitute, he scored 25 goals - a fine return, and one which compares favourably with the performance of Semenyo as a teenager.
First introduced to the Vasco team in 2023, Rayan has played much of his football wide on the right, cutting inside onto his stronger left foot. But, especially after the fascinating Fernando Diniz took over as coach, he has been moved inside. His virtues are obvious.
His Portuguese team-mate Nuno Moreira has been raving about him. “He’s a fantastic player,” said Nuno in October, “and I believe that he’s going to make history playing for the biggest clubs in the world.”
Strong on the ball, Rayan can power past defenders. He packs brutal power in his left foot, but can also finish with his right, and he is becoming a growing threat in the air. He can also work back down the flanks and take part in the build-up phase. One aspect which would seem to require some work, though, is his back-to-goal game, where he still looks very raw.
This is one reason that some fear Rayan might be moving a little too early. That is certainly the opinion of coach Diniz, with whom he worked so well last year.
Idolising Cristiano Ronaldo
“Rayan is a special player,” said Diniz this week, “and it will be almost impossible for us to replace him. I did everything for him to stay - maybe I regret not doing more last year. He really wanted to make progress with his career, so perhaps I should have sat down and had a chat with him.
“I think he is running a risk by moving now. I hope he does well there, but I am convinced that the best thing for Rayan would have been to stay here for another year, and then be more ready to make a move.”
But he was dealing with a young man in a hurry, looking to surge ahead with the same power and purpose that he shows bursting past defenders. His is a globalised generation - Rayan grew up idolising Cristiano Ronaldo, and now wants to move his way up from the south coast to the main stage.
The Vasco connection
Rayan is the fourth Vasco product to move to the Premier League. These are the others:
Philippe Coutinho
Coutinho (pictured below with Rayan) is now back at Vasco, where the journey began in 2009. He moved to Inter Milan the following year, but his stint there did not work out, and he instead became a star with a wonderful spell at Liverpool. If Coutinho could turn back the hands of time, he would probably stay at Anfield instead of making a disastrous move to Barcelona, from which his career never fully recovered, despite a brief return to the Premier League with Aston Villa in 2022.
Allan
A contemporary of Coutinho, defensive midfielder Allan left Vasco for Italy in 2012, and eight years later, left Napoli to join Everton. He briefly flowered in Carlo Ancelotti’s side there, and won Brazil caps as a mobile midfield enforcer. After spending time in the United Arab Emirates, he moved back to Rio to join Botafogo in 2024.
Douglas Luiz
Another central midfielder, who showed enormous promise as a teenager with Vasco in 2016 and 2017. His subsequent career has been uneven. Never used by Manchester City, he was loaned to Girona before building up momentum in a five-year spell with Villa. In 2024, he signed for Juventus who have since loaned him to Nottingham Forest and now Villa.
Andrey Santos
Yet another central midfielder who, like Douglas Luiz, made his name helping Vasco win promotion back to the first division. He only briefly played in the top flight before being signed by Chelsea, who loaned him to Forest and Strasbourg. He is now finally getting a run of games at Stamford Bridge. Not yet 22, was captain of Brazil’s Under-20s, and is very much in contention for a place in the World Cup squad.
A couple of other big-name players have a Vasco-Premier League connection:
Juninho Paulista
He was plain old Juninho until he joined Vasco in 2000, when the presence of another Juninho forced him to adopt the Paulista suffix. He was loaned back to Brazil after his second spell with Middlesbrough and hit the ground running, winning a Brazil recall after just three games for Vasco. Went on to win the 2002 World Cup and have a third spell with Middlesbrough.
Dimitri Payet
The one-time West Ham United idol was past his best when he came to Rio, and his two year spell with Vasco did not live up to expectations. But there were moments - and one that Rayan will never forget. Payet was named the man of the match for a game in 2024 - but thought that Rayan deserved it more, and handed it over in the dressing room.