Liverpool are persuading Brazilian youngster Reinier to join the club when he turns 18.
The 16-year-old is the jewell in Flamengo’s famous academy since Vinicius Junior agreed to move to Real Madrid, but Liverpool want to confirm his future transfer already.
Journalist Kleber Leite has claimed that we’re already negotiating with the boy’s family about a deal which will see Reinier move to England in two years time – although we’ll then have to get him a work-permit – something which has proved mighty difficult with Allan Rodriguez de Souza.
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We’d never heard of Reinier until this link cropped up, but he’s very highly rated in his homeland and has drawn comparisons to Kaka.
An interview he did at the end of last year helps explains what kind of no.10 he is.
“I do not like just to score goals, I always try to give passes, make beautiful plays,” he told Globo Esporte. “It’s not that I do not like to score goals, but I did not have much of a habit of getting in the area, but with the work of Flamengo I’m improving everything…
“I’ve never seen him play, but I love Zidane, a guy my father showed videos on. I always try to make plays like him. If I am 1% of him, I’m already fine.”
We’re currently banned from recruiting Academy players domestically, but are allowed to bring them in from abroad.
There’s no guarantee that any 16-year-old, even the most ludicrously talented ones, will make it, but at least under Jurgen Klopp there’s a clear pathway to the first-team.
Under his guidance, Trent Alexander-Arnold is likely to start in a Champions League final and go to the World Cup.