Caju (footballer, born 1995)

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Jesus and the second or paternal family name is Martins.

Wánderson de Jesus Martins (born 17 July 1995), commonly known as Caju, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Aris Limassol as a left-back.

Caju

Caju with Santos in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Wánderson de Jesus Martins
Date of birth	(1995-07-17) 17 July 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth	Irecê, Brazil
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Left-back
Team information
Current team	Aris Limassol
Number	3
Youth career
	AA Altair
2013–2014	Santos
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2019	Santos	36	(0)
2018–2019	→ APOEL (loan)	25	(0)
2019–2022	Braga	2	(0)
2020	→ Goiás (loan)	16	(0)
2021–2022	→ Aris Limassol (loan)	20	(0)
2022–	Aris Limassol	60	(7)
International career
2015	Brazil U20	11	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 28 January 2025

Club career

Santos

Born in Irecê, Bahia, Caju graduated from Santos's youth setup, and was promoted to the first-team in September 2014, profiting from the departure of Emerson Palmieri to Palermo and from Eugenio Mena's injury.^[1] He stands as the only player who graduated from Peixe Academy 100% owned by the club since 2010.^[2]

On 21 September 2014 Caju made his first-team – and Série A – debut, starting in a 3-1 home win against Figueirense.^[3] He overtook Mena and Zé Carlos during the latter stages of the campaign, appearing in 11 matches.

On 10 March 2015, after being linked to Udinese and Barcelona, Caju renewed with Peixe, signing until 2019.^[4] He spent the campaign as a backup to Zeca. In 2016, as the latter was representing the Brazil under-23s in the Summer Olympics, Caju was made a starter by manager Dorival Júnior, earning plaudits for his performances.^[5]

On 15 July 2017, Caju was loaned to French Ligue 1 side Lille for a fee of €500,000, with an obligatory 4 million buyout clause after 15 matches.^[6] In September, however, after failing his medical, he returned to his parent club.^[7]

APOEL (loan)

On 22 May 2018, Cypriot side APOEL announced an agreement in principle for the signing of Caju, signing a one-year loan deal with a buyout clause.^[8]

Braga

On 23 July 2019, Caju signed a four-year contract with Primeira Liga side Braga.^[9]

International career

On 27 November 2014 Caju was called up to the Brazil under-20's, alongside Santos teammates Gabriel and Thiago Maia, for the 2015 South American Youth Football Championship.^[10] He made his debut for the side on 15 January 2015, starting in a 2–1 win against Chile.^[11]

Career statistics

As of 30 June 2024^[12]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			State League		Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Santos	2014	Série A	11	0	—		2	0	—		—		13	0
	2015		4	0	0	0	1	0	—		—		5	0
	2016		11	0	2	0	5	0	—		—		18	0
	2017		3	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	—		4	0
	2018		0	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	—		5	0
	Total		29	0	7	0	9	0	0	0	—		45	0
APOEL (loan)	2018–19	Cypriot First Division	25	0	—		2	0	5[a]	2	1[b]	0	33	2
Braga	2019–20	Primeira Liga	1	0	—		1	0	2[c]	0	1[d]	0	5	0
	2020–21		1	0	—		0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	Total		2	0	—		1	0	2	0	1	0	6	0
Goiás (loan)	2020	Série A	13	0	3	0	2	0	1[e]	0	—		19	0
Aris Limassol (loan)	2021–22	Cypriot First Division	20	0	0	0	—		—		—		20	0
Aris Limassol	2022–23	Cypriot First Division	26	2	1	0	—		2	1	—		29	3
	2023–24		25	4	2	1	—		11	1	1	0	39	6
	Total		51	6	3	1	—		13	2	1	0	68	9
Career total			140	6	13	1	14	0	21	4	3	0	191	11

1. One appearance and one goal in UEFA Champions League, four appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
2. Appearance(s) in Cypriot Super Cup
3. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
4. Appearance(s) in Taça da Liga
5. Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana

Honours

Santos

• Campeonato Paulista: 2015, 2016
• Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior: 2014
• Copa do Brasil Sub-20: 2013

References

1. "Sem Emerson Palmieri e Mena, Santos promove jovem Caju da base" [Without Emerson Palmieri and Mena, Santos promotes Caju from the youth setup] (in Portuguese). O Povo Online. 4 September 2014. Archived from the original on 20 January 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
2. "Base do Santos mantém sucesso, mas 'micos' atrapalham investimento" [Santos' youth setup maintains the success, but 'blushes' disrupts investment] (in Portuguese). Notícias do Dia. 7 May 2014. Archived from the original on 25 November 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
3. "Lucas Lima brilha, e Santos vence o Figueirense na Vila Belmiro" [Lucas Lima shines, and Santos defeats Figueirense at Vila Belmiro] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 21 September 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
4. "Caju assina novo contrato com o Peixe e passa a valer R$ 169 milhões" [Caju signs new contract with Peixe and starts to worth R$ 169 million] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
5. "Novo titular na lateral do Santos, Caju revela conselhos de Neymar" [New starter in Santos' flank, Caju reveals advice from Neymar] (in Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
6. "Santos define venda de Thiago Maia e empréstimo de Caju para o Lille" [Santos define transfer of Thiago Maia and loan of Caju to Lille] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 15 July 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
7. "Após negócio frustrado com Lille, Caju volta ao Santos e já treina no CT Rei Pelé" [After frustrated deal with Lille, Caju returns to Santos and already trains at the CT Rei Pelé] (in Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
8. "Κατ' αρχήν συμφωνία με Wanderson de Jesus Martins" [Agreement in principle for Wanderson de Jesus Martins] (in Greek). APOEL FC. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
9. "Caju é reforço do Sp. Braga" [Caju is an addition for Sp. Braga] (in Portuguese). Record. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
10. "Gabriel e Caju são convocados para a seleção brasileira sub-20" [Gabriel and Caju are called up to Brazil national under-20 team] (in Portuguese). Santos' official website. 27 November 2014. Archived from the original on 1 December 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
11. "Sul-Americano sub-20: Brasil vence Chile com gols de Marcos Guilherme" [South American under-20: Brazil defeats Chile with two Marcos Guilherme goals] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 15 January 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
12. Caju at Soccerway. Retrieved 8 December 2014.

External links

• Santos FC profile (in Portuguese)
• Caju at Soccerway