Chelsea and Man Utd battle LaLiga giants for 16-year-old wonderkid

Updated: 25 Nov 2023 15:01 GMT
4 min read

Mauricio Pochettino, Chelsea, Erik ten Hag, Man Utd — © ProShots

A host of elite clubs, including Chelsea, Man Utd and Barcelona, are interested in signing 16-year-old Brazilian sensation Estavao Willian, who is perhaps better known because of his nickname Messinho.

The youngster has burst onto the scene and into the spotlight of European clubs with his outstanding performances at the U17 World Cup in Indonesia. Though Brazil were surprisingly knocked out in the quarter-finals by hated rivals Argentina, Messinho will go down as one of the breakout players of the tournament.

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The teenager racked up three goals and three assists in Indonesia and he has also been starring at club level, already playing for Palmeiras' U20s despite his tender years. An exciting winger, the youngster likes to steal the show with his impressive technical ability.

Messinho is the latest Palmeiras wonderkid to attract European attention after Endrick and Luis Guilherme and there are several continental giants ready to battle it out for his signature.

😳🚨WATCH OUT: Estevão Willian (Messinho) liked a comment on Instagram that talks about a potential attack by FC Barcelona in the future. (@instagram) pic.twitter.com/Rz3dOBkmTe
— Bᴀʀᴄ̧ᴀVᴇʀsᴇ (@BarcaVerse_) November 22, 2023

Premier League vs LaLiga

Previously linked with Arsenal and PSG, Messinho is now being associated with Chelsea and Man Utd, who have both been keeping their scouts in Brazil to monitor some of the exciting young talent being produced. Additionally, Real Madrid and Barcelona are also said to be in the race for the 16-year-old.

United and Madrid are the latest clubs to join the chase for the youngster, but if they truly wish to sign the wonderkid, they will have to make an alluring offer because the youngster has revealed that it is his dream to play for Barcelona.

However, the Blaugrana, too, could struggle to snap him up seeing as though he boasts a release clause worth a whopping €60 million after signing a professional deal with Palmeiras in April. According to Mundo Deportivo, PSG already made an offer worth €40m and then another close to €50m. TEAMtalk claims that an offer of €54m could be enough to tempt Palmeiras into selling.