Barça keeping close eye on emerging crop of Brazilian centre forwards
There are tons of talented No.9s coming through in the country at the moment
Brazil has regained continental hegemony at grassroots level by winning the South American Under-20 Championship and, this past Sunday, the Under-17 Championship. A deserved double, achieved in a matter of two months, with the same common thread: a scoring capacity personified in two No.9s of an impressive projection, Vitor Roque (18 years old) and Kaua Elias (17 years old), stars in both competitions.
After years of average players, which the Seleçao have paid dearly for at World Cups, Brazil can once again boast that the No.9 production line is once again running at full steam with names that are destined to be global references in the medium term.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has already swooped for one by paying a transfer fee of €35 million (plus bonuses for the family and agents) for Endrick, the 16-year-old 'menino prodígio' of Palmeiras, who was on Barcelona's agenda. In Madrid, as with Camavinga and Tchouaméni, they boasted of having been quicker and smarter than PSG. The gamble is a risky one and Endrick spent the first two months of the Brazilian season without a goal in a drought that stretched over 12 games.
From the Blaugrana perspective, it is no exaggeration to say that, in the coming years, the club will end up having a Brazilian No.9, recovering the tradition of having the 'craques' of 'o país do futebol'.
Vitor Roque y Kaua Elias, dos '9' que van para figura
| SPORTWhen the Fair Play Financial margin for next season is known, Barça will sit down to talk with Ath. Paranaense and will go for Vitor Roque, who, last Wednesday, showed again that he is a footballer for big occasions: he scored a great goal in the Copa Libertadores, in a huge match against At. Mineiro.
And, behind him is Kaua Elias, who has had a superb Under-17 South American Championship, in which he has scored 5 goals and provided 2 assists. He shared top billing at the tournament with his teammate Rayan (an impressive left winger from Vasco da Gama) and the 'Diablito' Echeverri, the Argentina No.10 who in his country is already being compared to Leo Messi.
Kaua, who will now join Fluminense's first team, is a technically gifted attacker who has attracted the attention not only of Barça but many of the big European clubs. He reinforces the 'overbooking' of centre forwards that there will be in the coming years in Brazil... a headache for the future national team coach and one that creates envy.
