Every now and then, a new kid from Brazil grabs all the headlines and right now, Gabriel Jesus is that prospect. Gabriel Fernando de Jesus, or Gabriel Jesus as he is better known, is the latest young, great, Brazilian hope. Europe’s top clubs have expressed a lot of interest in him, however, it seems that Pep Guardiola had the last laugh, as the Spanish manager has apparently convinced him to join his project at Manchester City, while United boss Jose Mourinho is prepared to outbid Citizens chief as European elite fight to sign 19-year-old.

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Aged just 19, the São Paulo native is already being compared to Neymar, Pele and just about any Brazilian footballer who has achieved some sort of the notoriety. The media is always on hand to compare any rising new player to legends, and most of the times it goes wrong. However, Gabriel might just be an exception to this rule, as he only made his debut for Palmeiras in March, but had already come to prominence with his form at youth level. Playing for the Verdão’s under 18 side, he managed 54 goals in 48 matches – a bewildering statistic, even at that level.

Strengths:

He is an extremely versatile player— he can feature anywhere up front. His low centre of gravity and enviable pace and trickery fits him perfectly into the blueprint of the Brazilian attacker. Following his exploits in the lower division, Gabriel is now a regular under head coach Cuca, and has notched up goals in the Brazilian league as well. He has been picked in the Brazilian squad for the Olympics, where he will pair up with Neymar, Coutinho and another Samba sensation Gabigol aka Gabriel Barbosa.

What They Say:

Former Real Madrid and Barcelona and World Cup winner Ronaldo consider Gabriel to be one of the players with a very bright future ahead of him.

“I’m betting on two talents, they’re still developing but have a lot of quality. Gabriel Barbosa of Santos and Gabriel Jesus of Palmeiras are very young talents and haven’t even turned 20,” said the three time FIFA world player of the year.

“He will become a major player in Brazilian football, and also the Seleçāo, if they have patience. He is a boy who is easy to speak with and work with and who is different to the others in the question of training, always giving more than 100 per cent,” said Palmeiras U-17 coach Bruno Petri.

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Too many promising Brazilians have fallen before they have had a chance to flourish in recent years, leaving the national team short on star quality. For Gabriel to avoid that path, he would do well to keep on the one he is currently following.