Newcastle and Barcelona both have their eye on a young Brazilian wunderkind, Andrey Santos who plays for Vasco da Gama.
The 18-year-old has played 27 times for the Brazilian second-tier club, scoring five times and has caught the eye of several clubs. He has previously been linked with a move to Wolves, but now it seems that Newcastle and Barcelona are the frontrunners for the youngster’s signature.
Brazilian outlet, Globo Esporte (via HITC) claim that Newcastle are prepared to pay £30m for the midfielder who has been dubbed the “Brazilian Busquets”. It’s believed that Santos may be about to sign a new contract at Vasco da Gama which would keep him there until 2027, however, that deal will have a release clause of £43m, meaning if Newcastle were to cough up an extra £13m they’d have to be granted the right to talk terms with the player.
Is £43m Too Much To Risk On An 18-Year-Old?
Yes
Nah, trust the club
It looks like Newcastle are keen to get things in place early for the January window, having been repeatedly frustrated in the summer, so it’s no surprise that we’re already shopping despite the window closing last week.
£43m might seem like a lot of money for a player who plies his trade in the second division of Brazilian football, but Newcastle feel they’ve seen enough to know that Santos will be a huge star in the future. As long as they can see off free-spending, yet allegedly broke, Barcelona, then we could add a little more Brazilian flair to the squad.
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