Barça to step up scouting of Endrick as Palmeiras eye semifinal

Endrick returns to the scene this week in a tournament that has launched him into stardom. On Wednesday, Palmeiras play in the quarterfinal of the Copa Sao Paulo de Juniores against Oeste, who starred in one of the surprises of the tournament by eliminating Flamengo in the last round. The Palmeiras center forward, only 15 years old, will once again have quality minutes in a tournament in which he competes with U-21 players.

Barça will continue with their on-site observation process. The Blaugrana scout in charge of the Brazilian market, José Manuel Barla, from Cádiz, will be at the Arena Baruerí stadium, in the western part of the Sao Paulo metropolitan area, to continue analysing the youngster. It will be the third game in a row that the Barça emissary will witness a match involving Palmeiras, who are the big favorites for the title.

Endrick, who is compared with Romario and Ronaldo in his homeland, is being preserved by the coaching staff, who have not yet lined him up for 90 minutes. Since he recovered from Covid-19, he has participated in the final stretch of the wins against Atlético Goianiense (0-3) and Internacional (1-2 ), who were the defending champions.

The first semi-final of the tournament is already defined, which will be played by Santos, wh beat Mirassol on penalties (2-2 after 90 minutes), and América Mineiro, from Belo Horizonte, who beat Botafogo (1-0 ).

In the other half of the draw, everything indicates that there will be a São Paulo classic in the semifinals. For that to happen, Palmeiras have to beat Oeste, in a match where they have everything going for them, while Sao Paulo, who are also playing at a high level, will have to beat Cruzeiro.