Last season saw Bournemouth end with their highest-ever points tally in the top flight, largely thanks to the 19 goals of Dominic Solanke (£7.5m). Not to be deterred by his subsequent £65m transfer to Tottenham Hotspur, the Cherries bought Evanilson (£6.0m) six days later.

Such a fast reaction suggests there’s internal confidence that this £40m signing is the perfect Solanke replacement. After all, he arrives from Portuguese giants Porto with Champions League experience under his belt.

So can the 24-year-old adapt quickly and what impact will he have in Fantasy Premier League (FPL)?

We’ll take a look during this Scout Report piece, including data and images from our Premium Members Area.

HISTORY

A product of Fluminense’s youth system, he made his first-team debut aged 18 but, a week later, was curiously sent on a six-month loan to Slovakia.

Three goals came in six appearances at second-tier side STK Samorin, before returning to his parent club’s Under-20s team.

CAREER LEAGUE RECORD

Soon after was a strange Tombense situation. The lower-league outfit signed Evanilson and immediately loaned him back to Fluminense, where eight goals in 22 caught the eye of Porto. An agreed €8.8m fee was split between the two Brazilian sides.

None of his goal tallies blow you away, especially considering Porto’s high status and constant title challenges. But he gradually played his way into Sergio Conceicao’s line-up and played a big role in their 2021/22 domestic double.

Four additional trophies have entered Evanilson’s trophy cabinet but arguably his biggest moment was last October’s Champions League hat-trick away to Antwerp.

As for international antics, he made his senior Brazil debut this summer. He started June’s 3-2 win over Mexico and was brought on during their Copa America defeat to Uruguay.

PLAYING STYLE

A right-footer, Evanilson likes using his low centre of gravity to aggressively drive at defences. Such powerful running is ideal for new boss Andoni Iraola’s counter-pressing style.

His good hold-up play tends to bring teammates into play and win fouls but, it has to be said, his finishing isn’t the best. Only 32.4% of last season’s shots ended up being on target. By comparison, Erling Haaland (47.1%), Alexander Isak (53.8%) and Ollie Watkins (43.9%) comfortably outdid this and even the poor rate of Solanke (33.9%) was better.

Last season was also the first time in four seasons that he’d exceeded his xG. Even then, it was minimal: 12.7 xG to 13 goals scored.

Penalty-taking duties would be a welcome boost to his appeal. There’s a void at Bournemouth to be filled, of course, thanks to Solanke’s exit.

Evanilson has taken nine spot-kicks in the past, scoring seven of them.

WHERE EVANILSON FITS IN AT BOURNEMOUTH

Considering the clubs he’s been linked with in recent years, Bournemouth have pulled off a coup here.

He’s taken over Solanke’s number nine shirt and, after not being registered in time for Gameweek 1, will be ready to get underway on Sunday versus Newcastle United.

Whether Iraola throws him in from the first minute isn’t yet known. Luis Sinisterra (£5.0m), Daniel Jebbison (£4.5m) and Antoine Semenyo (£5.5m) all tried leading the line for a bit at Nottingham Forest, with the out-of-position Semenyo equalising.

But Jebbison is reportedly off to Watford on loan and the other two are primarily used out wide. It means Evanilson should firmly be the Cherries’ first choice, edging out Enes Unal (£5.5m) when the Turkish international returns from a toe injury.

IS EVANILSON WORTH BUYING IN FPL?

Bottom of our Season Ticker from now until Gameweek 10 thanks to six meetings with top-seven sides, the cyclical nature of fixtures means that Bournemouth have a very nice run afterwards, between Gameweeks 11 and 20.

By that point, FPL managers who are already invested in the £6.0m price bracket might be tempted to make a switch. Chris Wood, Rodrigo Muniz, Yoane Wissa and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have the appeal until then.

In fact, it was around the same time in 2023/24 when Iraola’s side really took off. After a slow start, Bournemouth were brilliant from November. From Gameweeks 12 to 38, their 42 points were only behind Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Aston Villa.

Owning a cheap, Champions League-quality forward with appealing fixtures could become an autumn bandwagon – especially if he’s seized control of penalties.

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