Milan favourites to land Santos wonderkid Kaio Jorge

Paul Macdonald

25 Jul 2021 15:14 BST
3 min read

Who is Kaio Jorge? The ‘new Cristiano Ronaldo’ chased by Arsenal and Chelsea — © ProShots

Santos have confirmed that Milan have submitted an official bid to lure wonderkid Kaio Jorge to San Siro next season.

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Jorge has been catching the eye of a number of European clubs, including Arsenal and Chelsea, but Milan have moved to the front of the queue to capture his signature.

It is understood that Milan made a first bid for the 19-year-old of €6m but the Brazilian side are looking for at least €10m including add-ons to get the deal completed.

Santos president Andres Rueda said of the situation: “We have received an offer, the club told us how much they want to pay, and we made a counter-proposal, so we are waiting.

“We are negotiating, the offer arrived straight from the club. The transfer window is a bit complicated as European clubs don’t have much money.”

Jorge first made an appearance as a substitute at the age of 16 back in 2018, and became a regular during Santos' run to the Copa Libertadores final in 2020.

He scored five times in that particular run, which first put him on the radar of clubs in Europe, though his goalscoring form domestically needs some work; he has struck just once in 796 of Brazilian Serie A football in 2021.

But Milan are looking to acquire a younger talent to learn alongside Olivier Giroud and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and believe a deal for Jorge can be struck sooner rather than later.