Tottenham monitoring Brazilian wonderkid Marcus Vinnicius, 17, with two Premier League rivals also keen on transfer
TOTTENHAM are monitoring the latest Brazilian sensation to come out of Palmeiras.
The Sao Paulo-based club have become one of the country’s best producers of talent in recent years.
Palmeiras have sold Endrick to Real Madrid in a fee that could rise £50m, Luis Guilherme to West Ham for £25m and Estevao Willian to Chelsea for £47m.
And now, 17-year-old left-back Marcus Vinnicius is catching the eye of Spurs.
Wolves, Newcastle and Benfica are also interested in the wonderkid.
Vinnicius – who can also play as a winger – is set to sign his first professional contract with Palmeiras this summer until June 2026, with an extension until 2029 already on the table.
The sales of Endrick, 17, Guilherme, 18, and Estevao, 17, have banked Palmeiras over £120m, and the club view Vinnicius as another big money-maker.
Vinnicius is expected to have an £85m release clause in his contract, but Palmeiras are open to negotiating a deal for any interested party from Europe.
Several scouts from the continent were present to watch him in a tournament in Ecuador last month that Palmeiras would go on to win.
Vinnicius arrived at Palmeiras in 2022, despite major interest from Flamengo, Internacional and Atletico Mineiro, after impressing in the Goias youth team – a club where former Chelsea, Brazil and Portugal manager Luiz Felipe Scolari made his name.
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Palmeiras director of youth Joao Paulo Sampaio worked hard to convince the club to bring in the highly-rated Vinnicius, having also found Endrick, Guilherme and Estevao.
Spurs’ recruitment drive is currently focusing on young talents.
They already brought in 18-year-old midfield duo Archie Gray from Leeds and Lucas Bergvall from Swedish side Djurgarden.
Tottenham's top 10 biggest signings: Hit or miss?
1) Tanguy Ndombele – £52.7m
Ndombele joined from Lyon in 2019 with huge expectations after shattering Tottenham’s transfer record.
But he would go on to play just 91 times for the club, scoring 10 goals and is now set to leave one year before the end of his contract.
2) Richarlison – £49.3m
Richarlison almost broke the £50m mark when he arrived from Everton in 2022 as Harry Kane’s back-up.
And while his tally of 12 goals this season was a significant increase on the three from his opening Spurs campaign, he is being linked with a departure this summer.
3) Brennan Johnson – £46.8m
Johnson was signed by Ange Postecoglou last summer and has impressed in patches during his first season in North London.
He scored five goals and 10 assists in 38 games and will look to build on that in the 2024/25 campaign.
4) Cristian Romero – £44.2m
Romero initially joined on loan from Atalanta in 2021, before his impressive displays saw him secure a permanent deal the following year.
He is two games shy of 100 for Spurs and, while he can be reckless with his tackling at times, is beginning to form a promising partnership with Micky van de Ven.
5) James Maddison – £39.4m
Maddison was handed Kane’s No10 shirt after arriving at Spurs and hit the ground running with three goals and five assists in his opening 11 matches.
But after getting injured against Chelsea in October, he failed to return with the same sharpness – managing just five goal contributions in 15 league matches as he missed out on England’s final 26-man squad for the Euros.
6) Davinson Sanchez – £35.7m
Sanchez joined Spurs from Ajax in 2017 and played more than 200 games across a six-year spell.
But he was always considered a somewhat erratic defender who did not play more than 20 games in a Premier League season from 2020 onwards.
7) Pedro Porro – £34m
Porro was another signing who originally arrived on loan in January 2023, before he signed permanently last summer.
He has 54 appearances for Spurs under his belt, scoring seven goals and impressing under Postecoglou this season.
8) Micky van de Ven – £34m
Rapid Dutch centre-back Van de Ven was named Spurs Player of the Season in his first campaign at the club.
His pace, athleticism, and technical ability on the ball have made him arguably Postecoglou’s best signing to date.
9) Moussa Sissoko – £29.8m
Sissoko came to North London for a substantial fee after being relegated with Newcastle and went on to enjoy five years at Tottenham, playing more than 200 games.
Unfortunately for the French midfielder, he is best-known for giving away a controversial penalty for handball in the first minute of Spurs’ 2-0 Champions League final defeat to Liverpool in 2019.
10) Giovani Lo Celso – £27.2m
Lo Celso joined on loan from Real Betis in 2019 – a deal that was made permanent the following season.
He has 10 goals and eight assists in 108 games, with some Spurs fans still unsure about the Argentine.