Will the real Denilson please stand up

12:30pm Thursday 8th January 2009

FOR all the fuss over his arrival – Wanderers still don’t know which Denilson turned up to try his luck in the Premier League this week.

It isn’t an example of mistaken identity, as it had been when several websites jumped the gun on Tuesday afternoon to announce that Gary Megson was on the verge of signing Arsenal’s precocious young midfield talent, who shares the same name.

Rather it is a case of whether the two-time World Cup finalist is anything approaching the player that once convinced Real Betis to shell out a world record £21.5million to land him in 1998.

Nomadic spells playing in Saudi Arabia, the United States and Brazil would seem to suggest he is not.

Denilson’s stock has fallen a long, long way since he leapt to the public eye with a string of skilful performances in the Confederations Cup of 1997.

The career-defining move to Betis was seen as an unmitigated flop by most, and although he survived in La Liga for nearly seven years, his time in Seville set in motion a string of diminishing returns.

He briefly flourished in France but priced himself out of staying at Bordeaux before landing a lucrative contract at Al Nasr.

Predictably, his time in the Middle East was brief but the scene was set for him to make an impact in the MLS when former Arsenal defender Steve Morrow took advantage of the league’s relaxed salary rules to bring him aboard at FC Dallas.

David Beckham was unveiled at LA Galaxy in the same pre-season but, unlike the former England skipper, Denilson found the emerging American league a frustrating experience.

Tales of dressing room disquiet followed and less than seven months later he jetted back to Brazil to join Palmeiras.

At 31, the fact he is once more a free agent and hawking his wares around ‘top European clubs’ must set off a few alarm bells. And yet there is still that nagging doubt in the back of the mind. What if?

Megson – a manager unlikely to be swayed by YouTube montages or past records – has been looking for a midfielder with something extra.

Primarily a left-sided player, Denilson has played more centrally with age. Even if he seems the polar opposite of the players who were expected through the doors in the January window, if the manager can find some way to shine the Brazil ace’s fading star, even a little, then the gamble might just be worth it.

But those alarm bells just keep ringing.

Denilson won the last of his 68 international caps (only 61 were considered official by FIFA) in 2003 in a friendly against China. Playing alongside him that day were Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and a certain Rivaldo, whose brief flirtation with Wanderers still brings up a mixture of scorn and disbelief among supporters even nearly five years on.

Megson does not seem the type to stand the sort of shenanigans Sam Allardyce had to put up with as he looked to secure the one-time World Player of the Year, yet Denilson’s comments after leaving Brazil at the start of the year are strikingly similar.

He has just under a week to prove he is serious about getting his career back on track. Will the real Denilson please stand up?