Nathan Allan de Souza (born 13 March 1996), simply known as Nathan, is a Brazilian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays for Grêmio. Mainly an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, he has also been deployed throughout his career in a central midfield role, as well as a winger and a second striker.

Club career

Atlético Paranaense

Born in

Blumenau Blumenau () is a city in Vale do Itajaí, Santa Catarina (Brazil), Santa Catarina state, in the South Region, Brazil, South Region of Brazil, from the state capital Florianópolis. The city was founded by the German chemist and pharmacist H ...

, Santa Catarina, Nathan joined Atlético Paranaense's prolific youth setup in 2009, at the age of 13. He was promoted to the main squad in 2014, initially appearing with the under-23 team in

Campeonato Paranaense The Campeonato Paranaense is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Paraná. It is run by the Paraná Football Federation (FPF). List of champions Notes * In 1924 Internacional and América merged in ...

. His debut came on 29 January in the first stage of the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

away at

Sporting Cristal Club Sporting Cristal S.A., shortened to Sporting Cristal, is a Peruvian sports club located in the city of Lima, best known for its association football, soccer team. It was founded on 13 December 1955 in the Rímac District, Rímac district by e ...

, playing ten minutes in place of Marcelo Cirino in a 2–1 loss. A week later in the second leg, he came on as a substitute and had his attempt saved in the

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

, although his team advanced nonetheless. Nathan made his Série A debut on 22 May, coming on as a second-half substitute for Paulinho Dias in a 1–1 away draw against Corinthians. In October, after rejecting a contract renewal, the club and the player went to court, with him being demoted back to the under-23s.

Chelsea

On 1 July 2015, Nathan joined Chelsea for an undisclosed fee rumoured to be in the region of £4.5 million, having initially confirming he had signed in May 2015.

Loan to Vitesse

Nine days after signing for Chelsea, it was announced that Nathan was join to Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem on loan, along with Isaiah Brown and Lewis Baker. He made his debut on 6 August in a

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

third qualifying round second leg against

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

at the GelreDome, replacing Baker for the final 21 minutes of a 2–0 home defeat for a 5–0 aggregate elimination. He made his

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

debut three days later in a 1–1 draw against Willem II, replacing Brown with 25 minutes to spare. On 14 August he scored his first goal, again as a substitute, concluding a 3–0 home win over Roda JC. On 4 October, Nathan scored his second goal for the club in a 5–0 victory over

FC Groningen Football Club Groningen () is a Dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, Groningen (province), Groningen province. Founded in 1971 as the successor of GVAV-Rapiditas, GVAV, Groningen compete in the Eredivisie, the first t ...

. On 9 June 2016, Nathan's loan at Vitesse was extended for the 2016–17 campaign. On the opening day of 2016–17 season, Nathan scored a brace against Willem II in a 4–1 win. He played as Vitesse won the final of the KNVB Beker 2–0 against

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known internationally as AZ Alkmaar, or simply and most commonly as AZ () in the Netherlands, is a Dutch professional Association football, football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan#The Zaan district, Zaan district. ...

on 30 April 2017 to lead the club, three-time runners up, to the title for the first time in its 125-year history.

Loan to Amiens

On 31 August 2017, Nathan joined

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

side

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

on a season-long loan. On 17 September 2017, he made his debut during Amiens' 2–0 away defeat against

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, replacing Bongani Zungu in the 81st minute. Nathan went onto feature twice more in the

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...

, before terminating his loan spell in January and returning to Chelsea.

Loan to Belenenses

Following his return from Amiens, Nathan opted to join Portuguese side Belenenses on loan for the remainder of the campaign in January 2018.

Atlético Mineiro

On 24 July 2018, Nathan agreed a deal to return to his native country to join Atlético Mineiro on a season-long loan, which was extended until mid-2020. On 1 July 2020, he joined the club on a permanent basis, signing a four-year contract.

Loan to Fluminense

On 4 January 2022, Nathan joined Fluminense on a season-long loan.

Grêmio

On 10 April 2023, Nathan joined Grêmio on a deal running until December 2025.

International career

Nathan has represented Brazil in both under-17 and under-20 levels. He made his debut with the under-17s during the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup, scoring five goals, including braces in the 6–1 group stage wins against

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

and hosts

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. He scored their equaliser in the 1–1 draw against holders

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in the quarter-finals and netted in the subsequent

, but Mexico won 11–10. Nathan was voted as the second best player of the tournament, winning the Silver Ball. He was also included in Alexandre Gallo's 23-man squad for the 2015 South American Youth Championship held in Uruguay. Nathan appeared in all matches during the competition, scoring his first goal on 4 February, netting the first in a 5–0 routing over

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Style of play

Tim Vickery, a reporter on South American football, called Nathan "a playmaker who can thread a little pass". He said that although he performed well as an under-17 international, his performances at under-20 were below standard, concluding that "it’s difficult to see what he has done in the last season to justify interest from Chelsea."

Career statistics

Honours

Vitesse *

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...

: 2016–17 Atlético Mineiro *

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian" or "Great Brazilian"), the Série A or the Brazilian Série A (to distinguish it from the I ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil () is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and it is the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de Portugal, ...

Campeonato Mineiro The Campeonato Mineiro is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. It is run by the Minas Gerais Football Federation (FMF). The history of Campeonato Mineiro can be divided into two parts: bef ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Grêmio *

Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho (English: Gaúcho Championship), officially named as Campeonato Gaúcho de Futebol Série A and commonly known as the Gauchão or the Gauchão Ipiranga (company), Ipiranga for sponsorship reasons, is the top-flight profess ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Individual *

FIFA U-17 World Cup The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to U-17 in 1991 and to its current name in 2007, is the annual world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by ''Fé ...

Silver Ball:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Team of the Year:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nathan 1996 births Living people Footballers from Blumenau Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards Brazil men's youth international footballers Brazil men's under-20 international footballers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Eredivisie players Ligue 1 players Primeira Liga players Club Athletico Paranaense players Chelsea F.C. players SBV Vitesse players Amiens SC players C.F. Os Belenenses players Clube Atlético Mineiro players Fluminense FC players Grêmio FBPA players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in England Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in France Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen