- 21 hours ago
Arsenal leading race for 'next Vinicius Junior'
Stuart Telford
- 21 Apr 2023 19:36 BST
- 3 min read
Arsenal have moved to the front of the queue to sign Brazilian wonderkid Matheus Franca according to reports in Brazil.
The Gunners have begun to collect some of Brazil's better players with Edu as sporting director, with last summer's £45 million capture of Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City a case in point.
Jesus has fellow Gabriels Martinelli and Magalhaes for company among Arsenal's first-team regulars, while the Gunners also beat a number of competitors to the signing of youngster Marquinhos from Sao Paulo last summer.
READ: Arsenal to beat Barcelona to 'Brazilian Aguero'
And now Mikel Arteta's Premier League leaders are ready to add more Samba stars to their squad.
"Flamengo's Matheus Franca is considered one of football's most coveted players, in the sights of Crystal Palace, Liverpool and Newcastle," report Torcedores. "[And] the attacker has been receiving special attention from Arsenal.
"Arsenal are trying to get ahead of their English competitors. The London club had a technical observer to monitor the youngster's performance against Nublense in a Copa Libertadores game…"
READ: Matheus Franca's FootballTransfers profile
The report goes on to state that Arsenal's South American scout Jonathan Vidalle is also paying particular attention to Fluminense's John Kennedy and Andrey Santos' Vasco da Gama teammate Eguinaldo.
Matheus França scored the game winner tonight for Flamengo in their season opener.
Flamengo supposedly turned down an offer of €14 million for the 18 year old last summer, and Newcastle enquired about him last month. pic.twitter.com/E98DXhFSMz— The Elastico 🇧🇷⚽️ (@the_elastico) January 13, 2023
How good is Matheus Franca?
Franca is a right-footed attacking midfielder who prefers to drift in from the left-hand side, which has seen him draw comparisons with Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior, who also counts Flamengo as his first club.
He lines up at No.10 significantly more than his compatriot, however, from where he can dictate play with his quick feet making him almost impossible to dispossess.
Franca isn’t yet prolific, often playing the pass before the pass, but his talent is plain for all to see, and he will be a key member of Ramon Menezes' Brazil squad at the U20 World Cup in Argentina this summer.
