Barcelona have reportedly agreed a move to sign Brazilian wonderkid Vitinho on loan from Palmeiras in the summer.
Spanish publication Sport have reported that Barcelona have been given the green light by Palmeiras to sign the highly-rated Brazilian attacking midfielder, Vitinho on loan in the summer transfer window. The wonderkid will ply his trade for the club’s B side next season.
Barcelona have been given the all clear from Palmeiras manager, Cuca who said, “I’ve heard something about Vitinho’s exit and it seems good for the player and the club if he goes to Barcelona B. He’s training well but, unfortunately, he can’t get the necessary minutes with us. At the moment, he needs to play.”
Vitinho is one of the most highly rated prospects in Brazil presently, having rapidly progressed through the ranks at Palmeiras before establishing himself in the first-team setup before he even turned 19. The player, though, has struggled for regular game time upon his graduation into the senior side.
? | FC Barcelona will pay about 1.5M for the loan of Vitinho for the B team. The purchase option would be priced at 15M euros. [sport] pic.twitter.com/hCS3FQP6Pz
— BarçaSpiral (@BarcaSpiral) June 22, 2017
While he did manage to make 8 appearances after making the grade with the first team, Vitinho quickly found himself relegated to the bench once the Brazilian club invested the riches they received from the sale of Gabriel Jesus to Manchester City.
With his progress halted in the last few months, a move to one of the biggest clubs in Europe has been mooted heavily. Barcelona have been monitoring Vitinho for a long time now and have now taken the steps to land the player at Camp Nou in the summer.
Palmeiras, too, are willing to let Vitinho join the Blaugrana in the summer transfer window as they would like to see the player continue his development by playing regular football. Thus, the attacking midfielder, who is revered in his homeland for his vision, looks set to make the move to Barcelona.
The Catalan club’s director of professional football, Raul Sanllehi is believed to be in Brazil to finalise the last details of the deal, which will also give them the option to sign Vitinho on a permanent basis in the summer of 2018, just like they did with Marlon Santos.
The 19-year-old will join the Barca B side next season, and his signing could be announced as early as next week after Barcelona face off against Racing Santander in the playoff to clinch a place in Segunda A this weekend.
