Barcelona are reportedly monitoring prospects of Vasco da Gama striker, Paulinho whose released clause is claimed to be €30m. The 17-year-old is of no relation to the current Barcelona midfielder whose name is also Paulinho, other than hailing from the same country.
Barcelona’s approach towards the teenager might have been sparked by the impressive performances he has put up in recent times. Just days ago, Paulinho broke Philippe Coutinho’s record of being the youngest player to make his senior debut for Vasco da Gama.
The forward is a physically imposing player with top-pedigree technical abilities. He has scored twice in 5 of his Copa Libertadores appearances this season and has also appeared for the U15 and U17 sides of the Brazil national team.
Paulinho has been hailed as the next probable superstar behind the likes of Vinicius Junior and Arthur Melo, both of whom are on their way to Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively. After losing Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain at the start of the campaign, the Catalan giants have been forced to raid their bank accounts for possible replacements.
So far, Ousmane Dembele has cost them £135.5m and Coutinho, £146m. While the former has struggled with fitness and is only 20 years old, Coutinho is slowly adjusting to life at the Camp Nou and playing next to one of the world’s all-time greats, Lionel Messi.
The team hold a comfortable 11-point lead at the top of the La Liga table and are poised to take on AS Roma in the Quarter Finals of the Champions League. They are focused on toppling their bitter rivals, Real Madrid as the European champions and is already making massive moves for the future.
However, they already have signed Arthur Melo from Gremio and next season will be in violation of La Liga rules with more than 3 non-European players. Yerry Mina might have to serve a season away on-loan when Melo arrives while Coutinho and Paulinho(midfielder) are first-team regulars.
The teenage striker probably will have to either play for the youth academy or the Barcelona ‘B’ team in the Segunda Division. All in all, it might not be as lucrative as it sounds from distance.
Regular minutes on the pitch is always the best asset for any young player and trading that away for hopes of future stardom might be foolish in the long run.
We will have to wait and see how this transfer rumour progresses but at the same time keep in mind, that senior team opportunities will be next to impossible for the Rio-born striker.
