Vinicius becomes latest Barcelona target to emerge in Brazil
Barcelona have been following the teenager since 2015 but there's plenty of interest from elsewhere
Vinicius de Oliveira Junior, or simply Vinicius Jr., has everything to be one of the stars that regularly emerge from Brazilian football. The last was Neymar, who much to Florentino Perez's annoyance, ended up at Barcelona.
And now the Blaugrana have moved to take control of the signing of 16-year-old Flamengo forward Vinicius Jr. All of Europe's big clubs have been following the teenager and know all about him and what he's capable of doing.
Barça have followed him since 2015, when he won the South American U17 tournament in Colombia with Brazil. In the competition he shone in an attack with Vitinho, who plays for Corinthians and is a Manchester City target.
Flamengo, aware of the kid's talent and the interest from Europe, have decided to bet on his talent. In July, having just turned 16 and not having debuted for even the Juvenil team, he signed his first professional contract, with a release clause of 30 million euros.
CONTACT WITH BARÇA
Barça have maintained contact with the player's people and shown their interest. Signing him would a medium-to-long-term option. However, they've wanted to move ahead of the interested English clubs in the running. Arsenal, Chelsea and the two Manchesters are all tough competitors to compete with.
