Milan favourites to land Santos wonderkid Kaio Jorge

Paul Macdonald

• 25 Jul 2021 15:14 BST
• 3 min read

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

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.

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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.

READ MORE: Who is Kaio Jorge? Full profile of Brazilian centre-forward

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.