MX23RW : Friday, January 31 23:54:46| >> :120:13787:13787:

Barcelona 'looking to beat Chelsea in Gabriel Moscardo race'

Barcelona 'looking to beat Chelsea in Gabriel Moscardo race'
© Reuters
Barcelona reportedly move ahead of Chelsea in the race to sign Corinthians teenager Gabriel Moscardo.

Barcelona have reportedly moved ahead of Chelsea in the race to sign Corinthians teenager Gabriel Moscardo.

Chelsea have delved into the Brazilian market on numerous occasions to recruit young talent since the arrival of co-owner Todd Boehly, signing the likes of Andrey Santos, Deivid Washington and Angelo Gabriel.

After luring both Washington and Gabriel from Santos this summer, the West Londoners were allegedly keen to sign Moscardo, but a move to Stamford Bridge ultimately failed to materialise.

A recent report claims that Chelsea remain interested in the highly sought-after 18-year-old, who has also attracted interest from fellow Premier League clubs Arsenal and Manchester City.

However, the English trio could face stern competition from Barcelona, as Sport claims that the La Liga champions have identified Moscardo as one of their transfer targets for 2024.

The report adds that Barca have contacted Corinthians and new sporting director Deco has 'taken advantage of the impasse at Chelsea' who are said to have already failed with two bids to sign Moscardo.

Corinthians' Gabriel Moscardo in action with Red Bull Bragantino's Marcos Vinicios on July 2, 2023© Reuters

Chelsea are understood to have seen their latest offer rising to €25m (£21.5m) rejected by Corinthians, who value Moscardo closer to €30m (£25.8m).

Barcelona are said to be interested in strengthening their squad with a new deep-lying midfielder to provide competition for summer signing Oriol Romeu.

It is thought that Corinthians may be forced to cash in on Moscardo, who is under contract until July 2026, at some stage next year in order to balance their books.

Should Corinthians part ways with Moscardo for a fee in excess of €25m, this would represent a club-record sale for the Brazilian giants, with their current record sale standing at €20m that they received from Tottenham Hotspur for former Barca midfielder Paulinho in 2013.

Born in Sao Paulo, Moscardo made his professional debut for Corinthians in June and he has since made a total of 15 first-team appearances including 14 starts.

The 6ft 1in midfielder is also a Brazil Under-23s international and made his debut as a late substitute in a friendly win over Morocco in July.

ID:525539:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect4775:
Written by
Oliver Thomas

Click here for more stories about Gabriel Moscardo

Click here for more stories about Arsenal

Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Corinthians' Gabriel Moscardo in action with Red Bull Bragantino's Ramires on July 2, 2023
Read Next:
Chelsea 'leading Arsenal, Man City in Moscardo race'
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free daily transfer newsletter! Sent twice a day during the transfer window.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool22165154213353
2Arsenal23138244212347
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2313553327644
4Manchester CityMan City23125647301741
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle23125641271441
6Chelsea23117545301540
7Bournemouth23117541261540
8Aston Villa2310763435-137
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2381053531434
10Fulham238963431333
11Brentford2394104240231
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd2385102832-429
13Crystal Palace236982630-427
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham2376102844-1627
15Tottenham HotspurSpurs2373134637924
16Everton225891928-923
17Leicester CityLeicester2345142549-2417
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2344153252-2016
19Ipswich TownIpswich2337132147-2616
20Southampton2313191653-376


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!