Manchester United have been reluctant to shop in the South American market in recent years and that’s a common theme among many of the elite clubs.
Instead of highly rated players from South America joining the biggest clubs, they are more likely to join smaller clubs before developing into world-class players. That was the case with Antony, who became one of United’s biggest-ever signings two years after leaving Brazil for a spell at Ajax.
United have explored that market before – mainly in the 2000s and early 2010s but that strategy seems to have been put on hold until now.
United were linked with a move for Moises Caicedo before the midfielder joined Brighton and Julian Alvarez, now at Manchester City, was another player they were tracking. Facundo Pellistri joined United from Uruguayan club Penarol in 2020.
Now, United have been paired with yet another wonderkid from South America. According to Brazilian journalist Caio Carrieri, United are intensifying their observations of Palmeiras forward Endrick.
Informação:
Manchester United intensifica observação de Endrick.
Orientação no clube é para scout no Brasil ir ao maior número de jogos do Palmeiras e avaliar, in loco, o desenvolvimento do garoto.
Observador do United já esteve na estreia da promessa, contra o Coritiba.
— Caio Carrieri (@caiocarrieri) October 20, 2022
The 16-year-old is one of the hottest properties in Brazil right now and despite only making two senior appearances for his side, it looks like some of Europe’s biggest clubs are lining up to sign him.
As per the report, there is now guidance from the club to watch Palmeiras games in order to scout him more intensely, having already seen him play against Coritiba.
Carrieri continues to say that United have promoted the idea of scouting Endrick to professionals in a meeting believed to have been held earlier this month.
SN’s verdict…
The Brazilian market is far from untapped but it remains one of the biggest goldmines for raw talent. Not all players develop into world-class players but the potential is bigger than anywhere else.
Endrick has attracted interest from Real Madrid in the past and if he continues to impress, it’s fair to assume that United will be following up on their supposed interest.
