Flamengo wonderkid Vinicius Junior will move to Real Madrid this summer and could form part of next season’s first-team plans, reports Marca.
Vinicius signed for Madrid in May 2017 in a stunning £39.6m deal but is not officially allowed to move to Spain until he turns 18.
The Brazil Under-17 international turns 18 at the start of July and Madrid want him to make the move this summer with a view to keeping him in the squad for next season.
Madrid are confident they have unearthed the best Brazilian player since Neymar and will assess whether his suitability during pre-season.
Zinedine Zidane’s side will look to loan him out if they believe he needs regular playing time next season but will keep him in Europe, rather than sending him back to Brazil.
Madrid’s main concern is that Vinicius will pick up a serious injury playing in Brazil and want to maximise his immense talent as quickly as possible.
Vinicius only started four league games for Flamengo last season, making a further 21 appearances from the bench. He scored three goals and provided one assist in that time, completing a dribble every 37.1 minutes of action.