Arsenal sporting director Edu Gaspar has raided his contact book and brokered deals to get Brazilian stars to the Emirates Stadium to the past
(Image credit: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Arsenal are in the race to sign a Brazilian wonderkid, as the samba continent at London Colney could continue to grow.
The Gunners have signed a number of South American stars in recent years with the likes of Willian and David Luiz joining from Chelsea before Gabriels Martinelli, Magalhaes and Jesus joined in 2019, 2020 and 2022 respectively.
Much of this strategy is credited to Brazilian sporting director Edu Gaspar, who won Arsenal's last title in 2003/04. The ex-midfielder is said to have a good relationship with clubs back in his homeland and previously worked in the Selecao's national setup.
Edu has been key to Arsenal bringing in Brazilian talent (Image credit: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Mundo Deportivo via the Express has reported the north Londoners' intention to bid for Estavao Willian, known as Messinho back in Brazil, due to his likeness to Lionel Messi.
Chelsea are interested too, as per fellow Spanish outlet Sport, with neither side needing to worry about this month's financial restrictions when it comes to signing the teenager. Born in 2007, Messinho is still just 16 and unable to move to Europe until he turns 18 – just like recent El Clasico captures Endrick and Vitor Roque.
Any move for the starlet would see Messinho move to the Premier League in 2025, meaning that the London clubs have time to structure an offer that suits them financially.
Estevao Willian is wanted by Europe's biggest clubs (Image credit: Getty Images)
Palmeiras are said to be demanding over €50 million for the player – but the transfer could be negotiable. According to AS, Endrick's eventual move to Real Madrid came to a base fee of €35m with a whopping €25m of add-ons and performance-related goals attached to it.
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Messinho is valued at €10m by Transfermarkt already.
Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.
