Watford have reportedly stolen a march on Chelsea, Manchester United and others to sign Fluminese wonderkid Richarlison in a sensational move
The Sun report that, according to reports in Brazil, Chelsea and Manchester United have lost out in the pursuit of Brazilian wonderkid Richarlison. The Fluminese youngster, who was tipped to join Ajax, is now set to join Watford in a sensational twist.
Watford have agreed a deal to sign 20-year-old Brazilian forward Richarlison from Fluminense for £13M, per @SkySportsNews pic.twitter.com/BHs2cLDP3u
— B/R Football (@brfootball) July 31, 2017
Richarlison joined Fluminese in 2016 and has since seen his stock being consistently on the rise, thanks to his displays with the Brazilian club. The current season, though, has seen the 20-year-old produce great numbers thus far.
A total of 7 goals and 4 assists for Fluminese has seen the player being linked with a move to Europe. Elite European outfits like Chelsea, Manchester United, Ajax, Inter Milan and AC Milan are all interested in the player. But, it is Watford that has reportedly snapped the player up, beating all other higher-profile clubs.
Chelsea were the club that were linked most prominently with Richarlison. The Blues have a history of recruiting from the Latin American nation, having signed Wallace and Kenedy in recent history and were looking to do the same with the 20-year-old.
Manchester United, though, were looking to rival Chelsea for the Brazilian, with Jose Mourinho openly admitting the need to sign an attacking wide player before the start of the season. However, it was Ajax who were tipped to be the frontrunners in the race for the winger.
The recently crowned Dutch champions have a young core filled with potential future superstars and Richarlison would have fit in seamlessly at the club.
Richarlison: Has scored more goals (5) than any other player aged under 21 in the Brasileirão this season pic.twitter.com/29trcX8tfa
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) August 1, 2017
At £13 million, This will be a huge transfer coup for Watford and Marco Silva, who will be eager to follow up on his impressive managerial debut in England. Richarlison’s decision also raises a few eyebrows.
The choice would have made sense because Watford would have been able to provide a faster track into the first-team setup compared to the other Premier League clubs. But, according to the reports, the player is set to be loaned out by the club after the move is complete, given the fact that he will not be able to gain a work-permit right now.
It will be interesting to see how Richarlison develops and whether the subsequent loan moves are used by the 20-year-old as a launching pad to make a name for himself in Europe, before returning to Watford with a valid work-permit.
Success – 21
Chalobah – 22
Doucoure – 24
Hughes – 21
Peñaranda – 22
Cucho – 18
Richarlison – 20Watford trying to build for the future.
— • (@BeIotti) July 31, 2017
Watford, on the other hand, have a young and talented core of players and the club would hope Marco Silva is able to build a formidable team for both the present and the future.
