PSG in pole position to sign Barcelona, Real Madrid long-term target – report

Over the last few years, the biggest teams have started to take a lot more risks in the transfer market than ever before. The idea is to sign young players with a high ceiling before others have a chance even to scout them, even if it means deploying them to the reserve team for a while.

Players like Rodrygo, Vinicius, Pedri, and Jude Bellingham, among others, are all examples of top teams avoiding competition in the market later on.

And, one 16-year-old that is already the subject of interest from European giants is Endrick. Currently playing for Palmeiras, the Brazilian wunderkind has garnered the interest of Barcelona, Real Madrid, PSG, and Chelsea among several more.

As it stands, though, PSG are leading the race for Endrick’s signature, as reported by SPORT.

This is not particularly surprising as Endrick’s father revealed recently that only PSG had made a formal approach to sign him.

“PSG are the only club that opened negotiations with Palmeiras with an official proposal, as things stand,” he said, “There are many clubs from different countries keen on signing him. PSG have already moved.”

Evidently, Barcelona are trailing behind other top dogs in this race, and are, therefore, keeping tabs on other young players in similar positions – one of them being Borussia Dortmund’s Youssafa Moukoko.

The 18-year-old prodigy has been called up to the German national team for the 2022 World Cup. His contract expires in the summer of 2023, and it has been reported that Dortmund have opened talks to renew the player’s deal.

As it stands, Barcelona have two strikers in their ranks, with Memphis Depay playing second fiddle to Robert Lewandowski.

The former is subject to a ton of transfer interest from Europe, though, including Manchester United. If he leaves the club in January, Barça could likely dive into the market looking for another forward, especially given Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres’ inconsistent form.