With the signing of Vitor Roque this summer, FC Barcelona were able to make a show of intent and demonstrate that they can pay big bucks for deserving emerging players.
Deco has been appointed as the new Sporting Director at Barcelona, and his association with the Blaugranes will be particularly helpful for the Catalan club in their pursuit of Brazilian talents.
The Portuguese official has a deep knowledge of the Brazilian football market, and he has already been tracking other young gems from Brazil for Barcelona.
Deco had his sights on Moscardo
One such gem in Deco’s sights is the 17-year-old Gabriel Moscardo, who has emerged with Corinthians and is one of the hottest rising players in Brazil.
While the player is well within the sights of major European clubs now, Deco had already been trying to tie the midfielder with Barcelona by 2024, as has been reported by SPORT. He has been on this task since May, when the player was still playing with Timao U-20, and had not made a senior debut.
Since then, the player has made his debut, on June 28th against Liverpool Montevideo. This match was rather inconsequential for his team as they were already eliminated from the Copa Libertadores.
However, this match was where Moscardo established himself as a starter, and he has already played 11 games with the Corinthians’ first team.
With his performances in these months, the player’s value has been increased by a whopping 600%, as he is now considered one of the greatest promising footballers in Brazil.
Chelsea getting ahead in the race
This emergence has also led other clubs to compete for the footballer. For instance, Chelsea have made advances to get the midfielder, as they have already submitted two offers for him. Corinthians value their gem at €30 million, and a deal with Chelsea is expected to take place in the coming days.
Meanwhile, the player himself is planning to stay in Brazil till 2024, and then make the jump to Europe. However, Barcelona’s chances of getting the teenager now are quite low, as Chelsea look set to beat them, as they already did with Angelo Gabriel and Andrey Santos.
