Chelsea and Arsenal to break decade-old transfer record to sign teen star compared to Declan Rice

15 Nov 2023 12:33 GMT
4 min read

Chelsea and Arsenal want to sign Gabriel Moscardo — © ProShots

Chelsea and Arsenal are among the clubs who have been told that to sign Corinthians midfielder Gabriel Moscardo they will have to break a transfer record that has stood since the summer of 2013.

A clutch of European giants are circling over the 18-year-old, with Barcelona and Liverpool among the big guns that have been linked with a move for the holding midfielder.

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Chelsea already had a bid around the €20 million mark for the player knocked back in the summer, with the Evening Standard reporting that it could take around €30m for the player to be prised away from his club during the January transfer window.

MORE: Who is Gabriel Moscardo? The Brazilian ‘Declan Rice’ who Chelsea sent a proposal for

This would break Corinthians’ long-standing transfer record, which was set when Paulinho was sold to Tottenham for €19.8m in 2013.

Despite interest from these four giants, no club has emerged as a clear frontrunner to sign the teenager, and it is likely to be some time before the favourites emerge.

MORE: Chelsea face possible points deduction over 'secret payments'

It is stated that Corinthians will wait until after their presidential election on 25 November before entering into transfer talks, while the Brazilian season does not finish until December, at which point Moscardo is likely to make a definitive decision over where his future lies.

Chelsea have the most insight into the player, having appointed former Corinthians chief scout Allyson Marins to their club earlier this year, while they have also been active in the Brazilian market in recent transfer windows, having signed Andrey Santos from Vasco da Gama, Deivid Washington from Santos and Angelo Gabriel from Santos.

© ProShots - Gabriel Moscardo, Corinthians

Moscardo forced to focus on Corinthians

Moscardo, who has been compared to Declan Rice, has admitted that there has been interest in his services in the recent past.

“There was a proposal from Chelsea months ago, but I talk a lot with my agent and my parents and they try to give me as little information as possible,” he explained earlier this month. “They say there is not long until the end of the season, they tell me to dedicate myself and do well, and that at the end of the season, there will be good things.

“I know very little information. My father knows a few things, he prefers not to tell me so as not to influence my head too much, to end up taking a little bit of my focus here, he says: 'Here your focus is on Corinthians.'

“Of course, there’s interest from various clubs, I’ve also heard about it, there was strong interest from Chelsea a few months ago, but if you stop to think about where I’m going now, at this moment, it’s not good.

“I want to help Corinthians now to get them out of this situation. Let’s wait for the season to end, there are still a few games to go, and we’ll see what we can do.”

The race for Moscardo, then, appears wide open at this stage.