Arsenal, Chelsea and Barcelona will battle it out for the signature of 16-year old Uruguayan starlet Gustavo Viera, according to reports.
According to the Sun, Arsenal, Chelsea, Barcelona and Juventus are all showing an interest in Gustavo Viera, who is regarded as one of the most highly-rated South American players to emerge in recent times.
The 16-year-old last week became the third youngest player to play in the Copa Sudamericana, the Europa League of South America, when he came off the bench for Liverpool FC Montevido at the Maracana in the defeat to Fluminense.
The Sun claim that scouts from both Chelsea and Arsenal have been regularly tracking the Uruguayan U17 international. However, they will face competition from both Barcelona and Juventus, who are also interested in signing the youngster.
Viera is represented by London-based agent Nick Maytum, of TMG, which the Sun claim could make things easier when it comes to a move to England. Viera himself has previously expressed his desire to play in the Premier League and also revealed that his heroes are Didier Drogba and Luis Suarez.
The 16-year-old is a pacy, powerful forward who is calm and composed in front of goal. Viera also has good dribbling ability and has a tendency to put his head down and run at defences, much like his idol Luis Suarez.
Arsenal have not had too many academy graduates in recent years with Alex Iwobi the only name of note to emerge over the last few years. The Gunners are well known for their extensive scouting network and will no doubt be interested in signing a player of Viera’s talent.
Chelsea have also earned a reputation for signing some of the finest young talent around the world in recent years but given their tendency to loan out players and their reluctance to hand youngsters first team opportunities, Viera could think twice before signing for the Blues.
Barcelona have long been a side that has the best young talent and despite having their own production line of brilliant players at La Masia, the Catalans will no doubt be keeping a close eye on Viera’s progress.
The fact that Luis Suarez plays for the Catalans will only add to the attractiveness of signing for the Spanish giants, however Viera could still choose Arsenal over them given the Gunners’ reputation for handing young players opportunities.
This definitely won’t be the last you will hear of this story as Viera is one of the most highly-rated South Americans around and we could well see him making a move to England or Spain in the near future.