Minnesota United is reportedly in the final stages of bringing in 20 year old Right Back Cherrion Valerius before the summer transfer window ends tonight. I was able to spend quite a bit of time looking into Valerius earlier this year when the club had initially shown interest in him. Valerius currently plays for NAC Breda in the Netherlands (Eredivisie). He has spent his entire young professional career going through NAC Breda's youth system all the way up to playing with their senior squad. He's been playing with NAC Breda's first team the past 2 seasons.
Cherrion Valerius is a dual national player eligible to play for both the Netherlands and Curacao. His current estimated transfer value on transfer sites range from around $1 million to $1.5 million. Over the past year Valerius has been rumored to have teams in Spain, Italy, Netherlands, and Scotland also showing interest in him.
Valerius's transfer fee will likely be in the ballpark of around $1 million. NAC Breda is reportedly very motivated to get a deal done given their current financial situation. We had previously approached Cherrion this past winter to acquire him, but at that time he didn't want to sign with us, which is understandable given certain events that were occurring around that time in the Twin Cities area. It sounds like circumstances have since changed and he is now wanting to come to Minnesota.
What kind of player is Cherrion Valerius?
Cherrion Valerius is a Right Back that also has the versatility to play as a Right Wingback or even as a Center Back. He's an imposing player listed between 6'3" and 6'4". He's also very athletic. When playing wide in Right Back/Right Wingback roles, he regularly gets involved in the attacking third. He also shows a willingness to progress the ball up field both passing and on the dribble when the opportunity arises. I must say it's fun to watch when he gets going up-field progressing the ball on the dribble with how big and athletic he is. He will take shots from range (with mixed results). He has also shown he can be a threat on set pieces with his size/aerial ability. Despite not having many goal contributions to his name, Valerius has shown some nice passing sequences helping in the build up of attacks as well as setting up scoring chances (which can be seen in the highlights I made below).
Here's a recent article from Football Transfers that also highlights some of his strengths in his playstyle and an excerpt from the article:
The statistics also show that Valerius is having an excellent season defensively. With an average of 2.99 possession recoveries, 1.99 disruptions of set pieces in his own penalty area, and 3.15 disruptions in his own penalty area per 90 minutes, Valerius has become a key force in NAC's defense. Furthermore, the future Curaçao international dominates in the air, winning an average of 2.16 aerial duels from open play per 90 minutes, allowing NAC to launch attacks 1.16 times per 90 minutes.
I'd mention at times it does seem like his youth and inexperience shows, which is somewhat to be expected. His defensive positioning has shown some inconsistencies whether it be giving too much space or being pulled out of position at times allowing for attacking chances from the opposition. I wouldn't categorize it as too concerning in the grand scheme of things, but still of note. I also feel like there are also times where he needs to play with more urgency defensively. Hopefully these things level out with time and experience. It's important to remember this is a 20 year old that has been playing in a very competitive league in the Netherlands.
Overall Valerius looks to be a player with a ton of talent that could develop into a quality MLS Right Back in the future. There will likely be some growing pains along the way, but his talent and skillset look to be well worth bringing in for Minnesota United. I also feel his skillset fits well within MLS, which is a very physically demanding league. We've seen other transfers struggle with this over the past few years.
What to expect from Cherrion Valerius with Minnesota United?
I'd expect Valerius to slot in as more of a depth piece early on for us at RB/RWB playing behind Kyle Duncan. However, going into the sprint season next year, he may be able to challenge for more minutes as he gets acclimated to the team/league. I'll be curious to see if we continue to go with the 5 man backline, or if we do try to transition to a 4 man backline down the road. Valerius provides flexibility to play in either role (or even at CB).
With Valerius only being 20 years old, we probably can expect to see "some" inconsistencies and youthful mistakes in his play as he grows into the role, which as noted above, have shown up when watching him at NAC Breda. However, I would say that I think Valerius's athletic profile with his size and athleticism should help for a nice transition into playing in MLS. He's also already been playing in a quality league in Eredivisie, so it shouldn't be much of a shock for him in regards to level of play in MLS.
While this might not be an immediate difference maker at RB/RWB for us, I do think this is a quality signing long term for the club. I know some will groan that he's not an immediate upgrade in the starting XI, but I do think he can be an upgrade in the near future for us. It reminds me a bit of when we signed Owen Gene last year and he wasn't immediately a starter for us in the Midfield, but with some patience he has started to blossom into a real nice player for us.
One has to wonder what the future holds for a player such as Bongi Hlongwane after this season as well, which could be a sign that MNUFC is looking for more depth at RB/RWB. He may want an opportunity to play in more of his preferred winger role elsewhere given how things have gone for him with Minnesota this season.
Highlights
Charts (A little outdated as I made these back in January)
I've attached some DataMB charts showing some of Valerius's different rankings among Fullbacks in Eredivisie along with rankings among u21 Fullbacks in Europe's top 7 Leagues:
(Rankings vs Eredivisie Fullbacks)
(Rankings vs u21 Fullbacks in top 7 Euro Leagues)
(Defensive Duals Won Percentage among u21 Fullbacks in top 7 Euro Leagues)
(Offensive Duals Won Percentage among Fullbacks in top 7 Euro Leagues)
