Liverpool are seemingly beginning to move more and more into the world of South American and Brazilian football.
The Reds have never been particularly keen on bringing in talents straight from the continent without a stop-off in Europe first.
However, recent months have seen the tide start to turn in that respect. Highly-rated Palmeiras winger Estevao Willian has been rumoured to be on their radar, with his teammate Luis Guilherme another strongly linked.
These stories come after Liverpool also made an offer to sign Andre Trindade from Fluminense last summer. Although that offer was rejected, Andre stuck around in Brazil, meaning he could be an option again in the future.
And now, it seems that the Reds have locked another talented young Samba star onto their list of first-team targets. He could well be the best of the lot.
Liverpool looking at Gustavo Nunes
It has been a long while since we’ve seen Liverpool bring in a player directly from Brazil. Perhaps they were stung by the experience of having to send Allan out on loan after loan before eventually selling him in.
Now 27, Allan is turning out for Flamengo, who are one of the favourites to win this year’s Brazilian’s Serie A, which kicked off last weekend.
Joining them as a contender will be Gremio, last year’s runners-up. They may have lost former Liverpool hero Luis Suarez over the winter, but in 18-year-old Gustavo Nunes, they might have stumbled upon a new hope.
Nunes only made his debut for Gremio’s first-team in February. However, The Daily Mail report that he’s already drawn the attention of scouts from top teams in England.
Manchester United are noted as being particularly interested, having reportedly sent scouts to watch Nunes in action last week. But United aren’t alone. All of Liverpool, Man City and Arsenal are all said to be interested in the youngster.
A pacy left winger known for his dribbling ability, The Mail also separately claim that Nunes – nicknamed Gustavinho – cites Brazil superstar Neymar as a big inspiration.
Will Liverpool sign Gustavinho
It’s really encouraging to hear that Liverpool are looking at signing the best talents coming through from Brazilian teams. For far too long the Reds have ignored the South American market.
Even when they have taken an interest, they’ve often not pushed hard enough. Real Madrid forward Rodrygo Goes recently claimed that he had an offer on the table from Liverpool back in 2019. But they clearly didn’t want him enough. Rodrygo ended up in Madrid.
With the likes of Vinicius Junior and Endrick also said to have been on the Reds radar in the past, it’s high time they made it count.
Gustavinho would not cost the world, but would still be a bit of a gamble for Liverpool. It’s on such risks that the rewards can be especially high. The teenager has been described as ‘very fast, very agile’ by his former coach Matheus Cassita [GZH Tricolor]. That’s the kind of youngster we could do with. Time to ward off City, United and the rest and swoop in, Reds!