Bharath Rammr
Manchester United made a move for Flamengo youngster Vinicius Junior, but according to the reports from Metro Sport, their interest has been swiftly rejected by the Brazilian outfit. Vinicius Junior is one of the latest young talents to hit the headlines in Brazil. He plays for the Flamengo’s under 19-team and is not even yet featured in the senior team. Vinicius has also not been seen in any youth national team for Brazil. YeUpdate On Manchester United’s Offer for £30 Million Rated Brazilian Youngstert, United scouts seem to have scented the incredible potential within the player, who has been dubbed as the ‘next Neymar’.
Even though several players in Brazilian football have been earmarked as potential replacements for existing stars, it is not always that a 16-year-old receives a lot of transfer interest. Such is the incredible potential within Vinicius that Manchester United want to sign him well before any other club are looking to make a proper offer. They may be late considering that Arsenal have also joined in the race for the player. Aware of the tremendous interest, Flamengo are not ready to let the player leave on the cheap.
Despite being only 16, Vinicius has a release clause of around £30 million in his contract, which runs until the summer of 2019. He is expected to sign an even long-term deal – if Flamengo are happy with his progress – when he turns 17. A centre-forward capable of playing on the wings when needed, Vinicius may just represent yet another forward talent at United. He would have to compete with incredibly talented players like Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial. Despite their talent, they have been unable to get much starting action in the league matches under Jose Mourinho.
If Vinicius arrives at Old Trafford, he may very well face a similar situation. As a result, it seems that United want the player to develop, and they have given Flamengo the option to keep him for another year as part of the sale. However, this does not seem to have appealed to Flamengo much and the Brazilian club have rejected the offer from the Premier League outfit. The setback is unlikely to prevent United from cooling their interest in the youngster.
Flamengo president Kleber Leite recently revealed that he is director of football has been in discussions with Manchester United. At the very least, United are willing to enter into an understanding with Flamengo in order to have the first option on the player. As part of such an arrangement, United will have to pay a certain figure as a compensation. Leite says that there is no shortage of interest and that Flamengo will choose the best offer on the table. He said:
“[Luz – Flamengo director] told me that he was contacted a while ago by a representative of Manchester United, who wanted to discuss the possibility of them having priority for a transfer.
“The talks didn’t get far, because Fred Luz told them plainly that future discussions would depend on the immediate payment of a sum that would give them priority among offers of equal value.”
