Monaco right-back and reported Newcastle United target Vanderson ‘has the quality’ to play for Barcelona and shares the same raw potential as a young Dani Alves, former Gremio coach Tiago Nunes tells Sport.
When it comes to making a profit, Monaco are as prolific as anyone.
Aurelien Tchouameni, Sofiane Diop, Fabinho, Bernardo Silva, Benjamin Mendy, Youri Tielemans, Rony Lopes, Thoms Lemar, Anthony Martial Terence Kongolo, Guido Carrillo and Tiemoue Bakayoko joined the Principality club for a combined fee of around £115 million and left for somewhere in the region of £400 million.
That is without mentioning academy graduate Kylian Mbappe either.
And, just eight months after signing rampaging right-back Vanderson for just £11 million, Monaco could be in line for another sizeable windfall. Barcelona, Manchester United and Newcastle are already showing an interest, per Sport, despite Les Monegasques’ eye-watering £52 million asking price.
Then again, Vanderson would be worth every penny if he emulates Dani Alves’ trophy-laden spell at the Camp Nou.
Could Monaco ace Vanderson be Barcelona’s new Dani Alves?
“Vanderson has the quality (to play for Barcelona),” says Nunes, who coached the 21-year-old at Gremio.
“I think of the comparison with Alves, because Dani was one of the greats. Dani is a player who played on the wing, but he was also a midfielder many times. Venderson has the quality to do that, and the physical strength to attack the space.
“Because he is direct, he has a lot of strength. He scores goals, he has potential. I see the same potential as Dani Alves.”
Newcastle are long-time admirers of Vanderson. They, like Tottenham Hotspur and Brentford, missed out when Monaco completed that bargain deal for one of the game’s most exciting young full-backs at the start of the year.
It remains to be seen, however, if Newcastle are willing to splash out a colossal fee on another right-sided defender when they already have Kieran Trippier.
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