Chelsea have the jump on Man Utd, Liverpool with generational striker sparking mad scramble
Chelsea and Man City have a ‘very good chance’ of signing Brazilian wonderkid Endrick who is already being compared with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
That’s according to Sky Sports, who put the pair ahead of Man Utd and Liverpool who are also chasing the Brazilian sensation.
The young striker is just 15 years of age, yet has already shown what he is capable of to devastating effect.
Endrick plays for Brazilian side Palmeiras and recently amazed scouts from all across Europe.
In the latest Copinha tournament for Under-20s held in Sao Paolo, Endrick put the world on notice. The teen bagged five goals across three matches in just 90 minutes of combined action.
That was despite lining up against older players, with Endrick earning both the tournament’s MVP award and Goal of the Tournament accolade.
Endrick future could be decided next summer
Endrick cannot sign for an overseas club until he turns 18. However, he will be free to sign a pre-contract agreement when he turns 16 in July.
Predictably, interest in Endrick is far-reaching, and a fierce transfer battle is expected to be waged next summer.
Chelsea and Man City are described as believing they have a ‘very good chance’ of signing him. Liverpool and Man Utd are also namechecked and both ‘will try to sign him’.
From further afield, PSG, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid are credited with interest.
It is perhaps Real Madrid who could provide the stiffest competition for the English clubs. Los Blancos are noted to be Endrick’s favourite team in Europe. Furthermore, he is represented by the same agents as Real’s Brazilian ace, Vinicius Jr.
Palmeiras already value the 15-year-old around the €40m mark. They hope to recoup a larger fee than the €30m they collected from Man City for Gabriel Jesus in 2016.
If Palmeiras are correct, they look a shoe-in to do just that. That’s because they reportedly view him as comparable to Messi and Ronaldo who have proven to be arguably the two greatest players of all time.
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Chelsea ‘close’ to long-awaited deal after Liverpool scare
Meanwhile, Chelsea are close to reaching an agreement with Sevilla over a deal for centre-back Jules Kounde.
Chelsea chased a deal for Kounde last summer. They almost got the deal over the line. However, Sevilla moved the goalposts by demanding a higher fee close to the deadline.
Nevertheless, the saga has stayed in Kounde’s mind throughout this season and Chelsea have not moved on from trying to snap him up.
In fact, Tuttomercatoweb claims that the Blues are now closing in on a deal to bring the France international to Stamford Bridge in the summer.
Club director Marina Granovskaia has reportedly offered her Sevilla counterparts €55million (£46million) plus €5million (£4million) in bonuses for Kounde. Tuttomercatoweb adds that an agreement between the two clubs for the transfer is ‘close’.
Recent reports have revealed how, after Chelsea failed to sign Kounde last summer, Liverpool began to monitor him and consider a deal. However, Chelsea have now reportedly acted swiftly to beat the Reds to the centre-back.
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