Real Madrid News
Barcelona trying to lure 16-year-old Real Madrid target to Camp Nou, reveals Xavi
Palmeiras wonderkid Endrick Felipe is a wanted commodity in the transfer market despite the fact that he will be unavailable to move to Europe for two more years until he turns 18. The likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG, and Chelsea are warring over his signing.
Just 16 years old, Endrick has been labelled as the next big thing to emerge out of the Brazilian footballing scenes following his breakthrough year at Palmeiras.
Having made waves with his goalscoring pedigree in the Copinha tournament at the youth level, the young striker made a mark with the first team, bagging three goals and an assist in just seven matches.
Naturally, a host of top clubs from Europe have taken an interest in Endrick, with PSG even making an offer worth €80 million to sign the youngster and his 15-year-old teammate Estevao, which was knocked back by Palmeiras.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, have upped their efforts to sign Endrick recently as reported by Fabrizio Romano, amid growing competition.
Now, Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez has revealed that the Catalan club are in discussions with Endrick and his father and are trying to lure him to Spotify Camp Nou.
Speaking to ESPN Brasil, Xavi said: “We have been talking to his father and also directly with the player. I explained the project we have at Barcelona. We want talent and he is a talent, capable of making a difference.
“He has the goal, he has the dribbling, he has a brutal ability to make a difference. He is a player of the present, who is already playing in the Brazilian league, and also of the future,” he added.
“He is the type of player we need. He already knows the project we have at Barcelona and we are talking. I hope he joins Barça.”
However, the Barcelona manager insisted that the decision rested with the 16-year-old striker, saying: “It depends on him. It always depends on the player. Normally, a player ends up playing where he wants to play. So it will be a very personal decision of Endrick.”
It has been previously reported that Endrick could be leaning towards a move to Real Madrid due to his admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo and Vinicius Jr. At the same time, a move to Chelsea is also not off the table due to the lure of the Premier League.
With Barcelona also now upping the ante in pursuit of Endrick, it remains to be seen what the teenage prodigy decides.
Real Madrid are blessed to have the services and loyalty of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos. The duo have run the show in the Merengues’ midfield for close to a decade and continue to deliver flawless performances to date.
Of the two, however, it is the Croatian who deserves the higher credit. The veteran is now 37 years of age, yet dominates the middle of the park with grace and poise like none other.
Stephen Estuaqio, an FC Porto player and Canada International, spoke earlier this week about why he considered Luka Modric to be a special player and compared him with Kevin de Bruyne to support his stance.
“I played against De Bruyne, but I ran behind Modrić. I couldn’t play against him. It’s crazy how he dictates the game and controls everything. It was a lesson for me,” he said on The 90th minute on Youtube.
With his contract running out next season, Real Madrid are looking to renew his deal by one year come June. Yet, it is difficult to see him continue beyond next season and his imminent departure will mark the end of an era at the club.
Thus, Modric could be an altered role come next season. With a young midfielder, possibly Jude Bellingham set to arrive, the veteran could move into a mentorship role with the occasional appearance in big games.
This season, however, Carlo Ancelotti will continue to use him as one of the backbones of the side and deploy the maestro in the must-win fixtures coming up later this month.
At 37 years of age, Modric has started 16 La Liga games over 24 appearances this season in the competition. He has scored four goals and provided three assists in that process in addition to creating eight big chances with an average of 1.8 key passes per game.
