Aston Villa have reportedly joined Premier League rivals Newcastle and two European heavyweights in the chase to sign Brazilian midfielder Andrey Santos.
The 18-year-old has come through the ranks at Vasco da Gama and broke into the Brazilian outfit’s first team in 2021, making 28 appearances last season in all competitions and scoring five goals.
That has led to several clubs showing an interest in the player – interest which continues to grow.
Indeed, the South American club’s director, Paulo Bracks, confirmed that clubs have approached the midfielder. However, he admits Vasco are yet to receive any offers for Santos.
Meanwhile, Jeunesfooteux adds that Barcelona and PSG are also in the running to land the player. Indeed, Barca are already known to have made contact with Vasco over a potential deal.
The Brazilian outfit are currently demanding £26million for Santos, a fee that’s too high for Barcelona.
The report adds that the Catalan giants want to sign the midfielder on an initial two-year loan. They would then buy him permanently, with the fee spread out of several years from 2024.
Barca will have their hands full with the Premier League duo and PSG though.
All three clubs are in a position where they could by Santos outright straight away, with no need for paying instalments.
The report adds that Newcastle are in a more favourable position in that regard. Indeed, Eddie Howe’s men could make a ‘substantial offer’ to sign Santos in the new year.
Signing Santos a gamble
While Andrey Santos is considered an exciting young talent, bringing him straight to England from Brazil could be a massive gamble – especially at that price.
There are not many Brazilians who make the direct move from the Campeonato Serie A to the English Premier League.
The majority tend to make the move to Europe, most notably France, to cut their teeth first.
That is the path Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes took as he excelled at Lyon before heading to St James’ Park. Joelinton also made his mark in Germany before joining the Magpies in 2019.
For Villa, Philippe Coutinho spent several years at Inter Milan before heading to Liverpool.
Douglas Luiz moved straight from Vasco to Manchester City in 2017 but never made an appearance for the club. He was loaned out to Italy before moving to Villa in 2019.
Summer signing Diego Carlos also had spells in Portugal, France and Spain before moving to England.
That tends to suggest that Premier League clubs prefer to see how Brazilians evolve in other European leagues first before signing them.
To that end, it would be no great surprise to see Santos move to Barca or PSG in 2023 instead.