Arsenal and Chelsea 'far more interested' in wonderkid than Liverpool

Tom Weber

21 Nov 2023 11:38 CST
3 min read

Mikel Arteta, Mauricio Pochettino — © ProShots

Arsenal and Chelsea are more likely to make a move for Gabriel Moscardo than Liverpool, according to a report.

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The 18-year-old midfielder has become one of Brazil's most sought-after youngsters. The South American country continues to produce a host of thrilling talent every season and Moscardo is the latest youngster set for a big future at the highest level.

Having established himself as a regular fixture at Corinthians, Moscardo is attracting high-profile interest, particularly in Europe. Unsurprisingly, Arsenal and Chelsea are in the mix. Brazil has been a happy hunting ground for both London giants in recent years, with the likes of Gabriel Martinelli, Andrey Santos, Deivid Washington and Angelo Gabriel being signed directly from the country.

Liverpool have also been heavily linked with Moscardo after ending their interest in his compatriot Andre of Fluminense, but the Reds, despite their wealth of South American talent, do not have the same track record of funnelling talent directly from the continent to Europe and this could prove crucial in the race to sign Moscardo.

Arsenal, Chelsea lead the race

That's at least according to journalist Neil Jones. Speaking to CaughtOffside, Jones drew attention to Liverpool's reluctance to buy directly from South America and claimed that Arsenal and Chelsea are currently ahead of Jurgen Klopp and company when it comes to potentially signing the 18-year-old.

“Another young Brazilian linked with a move to Merseyside is Gabriel Moscardo of Corinthians," Jones said, "although my information is that both Chelsea and Arsenal have shown far more interest in the 18-year-old than Liverpool have."

“Liverpool, generally, do not sign first-team players directly from South America. Their tendency in the past has been to wait and see how a talent develops once it has moved to Europe – think of [Luis] Diaz, [Roberto] Firmino, Fabinho, [Darwin] Nunez, [Alexis] Mac Allister and Alisson as six great examples – before making their move when the player reaches their early-mid 20s.”