Barcelona cannot afford to sign £35 Vasco da Gama wonderkid Andrey Santos during the January transfer window in a boost for Premier League high-flyers Newcastle United, according to Spanish publication Sport.
Who would have imagined, when Newcastle were plodding along miserably under the ownership of Mike Ashley, that they would soon in a position to outbid Barcelona for one of the most exciting young talents in South American football?
A lot has changed at St James’ Park over the last 12 months; the players, the manager, the atmosphere, their league position. Following the high-profile additions of Bruno Guimaraes, Kieran Trippier and Alexander Isak, stumping up £35 million for an 18-year-old with just one season of first-team football under his belt would be another display of ambition and financial might from a side who have gone from relegation favourites to Champions League chasers in the blink of an eye.
Barcelona and PSG target Andrey Santos could join Bruno Guimaraes at Newcastle
Andrey Santos is also a target for Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona, among others. But Barca, Sport say, are postponing any potential offers for the box-to-box whizzkid until next summer, knowing that they lack the ‘financial capacity’ to meet Vasco da Gama’s £35 million asking price in January.
This, then, could leave the door wide open for Newcastle United. The Saudi-backed Magpies, Sport say, will bid and bid ‘hard’. There is a quiet confidence at St James’ Park too that Santos will be joining one of his idols – the ‘phenomenal’ Bruno Guimaraes – at some point in 2023 (90Min).
“I really like Casemiro, Bruno Guimaraes and Thiago Alcantara. These guys are phenomenal. I look up to them a lot,” says Santos; scorer of eight goals as Vasco da Gama secured promotion back to Brazil’s top flight recently.
“Physically, he is a monster,” Lyon legend and former Brazil international Juninho says of Andrey Santos. “Without the ball, his participation in the game is total. I want to see his GPS, because he doesn’t stop! And technically, he’s way above the others.
“He’s not going to be better than me, he’s going to be much better than me. He is a much more complete player. At 18, I didn’t play half as much as he does. I’m not ashamed to say that.”
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