Five Palmeiras youngsters ready for transfers to Europe

Palmeiras have won a second consecutive Copa Libertadores title, defeating Flamengo 2-1 in the final. Abel Ferreira’s squad is a talented one and there are several young talents who will soon attract interest from European clubs.

Here, we take a look at these Copa Libertadores-winning talents and explain why they’ll be in demand in the coming transfer windows.

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Gabriel Veron

The fact that Gabriel Veron has been breaking some of Gabriel Jesus’ Palmeiras records shows how special a talent the 19-year-old is. By scoring his first Copa Libertadores goal at the age of 18 and one month, he broke the Manchester City man’s record as the youngest Palmeiras player to ever score in the continental competition. Even if the winger didn’t find the net in this season’s edition, he was important to his side’s success by assisting Dudu’s winning goal in the semi-final, using his strength to win the ball back before picking out the perfect pass.

Gabriel Menino

Gabriel Menino is one of the top talents emerging in all of Brazilian football, so much so that the 21-year-old has already earned a call-up from Tite to the senior Brazil national team, even if he hasn’t yet debuted. The Palmeiras academy graduate is a defensive midfielder and has drawn comparisons to Casemiro for the way he plays the position, while he has also demonstrated his versatility by playing some matches at right-back.

Renan

Renan is only 19, but already an important player for Palmeiras. The centre-back was named as the breakthrough player of the 2021 Campeonato Paulista, where he made more tackles and clearances than any other Palmeiras player. He has had ups and downs, as should be expected for a teenager, but Renan is praised for his incredible work ethic and for putting in more hours than most of his teammates at the training ground.

Danilo

Even though he is only 20, central midfielder Danilo played the fourth-most minutes of any Palmeiras player during their 2021 Copa Libertadores run, playing at least some part in every one of the 13 matches. There’s a reason for that, as Danilo is so confident on the ball and so tactically aware too. Abel Ferreira can trust him as if he were a veteran.

Patrick de Paula

This 22-year-old footballer from Rio de Janeiro was still playing in amateur tournaments in the city’s favelas until as recently as four years ago, when he was spotted by Palmeiras’ scouts and brought to the São Paulo club’s academy. Playing as a winger, he was nicknamed Pelezinho, meaning Little Pele, but Palmeiras converted him into a central midfielder, a classic box-to-box roamer who does a little bit of everything.