What’s the story?
Barcelona have agreed to sign wonder-kid Vinicius Júnior from Brazilian side Flamengo says reports on Spanish outlet AS. The report also states that the deal has been agreed but not officially been concluded as it would attract sanctions from FIFA due to their rules regarding the signing of underage players.
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Neymar is also reported to have played a big hand in the transfer, convincing the youngster of the move to the Catalan giants.
In case you didn’t know..
Vinicius Junior, a Brazil U-17 international has been on the radar of the top European sides for a while. English Premier League leaders were also contesting his signature, but the youngster seems to have chosen the La Liga side.
Vinicius, whose playing style has been compared to a certain Neymar Junior, shot into prominence after his performances for the Brazil U-17 side as they lifted the South American U-17 Championship. He finished the tournament as the leading goalscorer with 7 goals.
The heart of the matter
Vinicius’ performances in the South American U-17 Championships attracted scouts from European giants such as Chelsea, Barcelona and Real Madrid. However, Manchester United were the first club to have approached Flamengo for the winger, although their advances were rejected by the Brazilian side.
According to the report on AS, “André Cury and Barça's Director of Youth Football Pep Segura are as close to agreeing on a deal for the 16-year-old which is as legally possible”.
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Author’s Take
Barcelona have long been one of those teams who have tried to acquire youngsters and teach them the ‘Barcelona way’ in the famed academy La Masia. As evident by the interest, and the numbers linked to the transfer (€30 million for SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD) he is one of the best (if not the best) among the talents in his age group.
However, a big money move at a young age puts too much pressure on a youngster’s shoulders sometimes, as seen with the move of Martin Ødegaard to Real Madrid. At 16-years, there are hardly a few who can cope with the stardom and the expectations, and Barcelona have to manage the youngster astutely so as not to blunt the talent he possesses.
After all, no one likes to hear a Freddy Adu like story.
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