- Leicester City sign Brazilian winger Tetê on a deal to the end of the 2022/23 season
- The 22-year-old forward arrives in Leicester following a spell with French club Lyon
- He has represented Brazil at various youth levels
Tetê joins the Foxes following a spell with French club Lyon, whom he joined in March 2022 following the suspension of his contract with Shakhtar Donetsk. He is currently due to return to Shakhtar on 1 July.
He played 30 times in all competitions for Lyon and will now add further attacking options to Brendan Rodgers’ squad during the second half of the 2022/23 season.
Speaking to LCFC TV, he said: "I’m really happy to be here. I’ve had a look at the pitch and the stadium, it’s beautiful and I can already imagine what it’ll be like with a lot of fans. I hope to score a lot of goals and assists. I hope they’ll all be happy to see me play, I’m happy to be a Fox."
Born in Alvorada, Brazil, Mateus Cardoso Lemos Martins joined the youth academy of Gremio in 2008 and spent more than a decade with the club.
His performances in his homeland attracted the interest of Shakhtar Donetsk, and he moved to the Ukrainian Premier League in February 2019.
Tetê quickly established himself as one of the standout players in Ukraine’s top-flight, while impressing in the UEFA Champions League, where he scored in Shakhtar’s memorable 3-2 win at Real Madrid in October 2020.
In March 2022, FIFA passed a ruling enabling all foreign players based in Ukraine to suspend their contracts, following which Tetê joined Lyon. He has made 17 Ligue 1 appearances this season, scoring six times and registering three assists.
At international level, Tetê has represented Brazil’s Under-20 and Under-23 teams, and featured in the 2019 South American Under-20 Championship.
He will now link up with his Leicester City team-mates ahead of their Premier League fixture away at Aston Villa on Saturday 4 February (3pm kick-off).
Tetê will wear no.37 for the Foxes, with free shirt printing on all 2022/23 adidas replica shirts available until the end of January.