According to Italian outlet Corriere Dello Sport, Manchester City are one of a number of clubs interested in the Brazilian wonder kid Gabriel Veron. The Palmeiras player was voted the best player at the FIFA Under 17 World Cup and having just signed a contract extension at the Brazilian club, according to Globo Esporte is rumoured to have a €60m release clause (£51.4m).
Unusually for a Brazilian, the player was partly named after former Argentina star Juan Sebastian Veron and interestingly it was his neighbour’s idea. Veron told Carta Capital: “It was because of Argentina’s midfielder Juan Sebastián. It was my neighbour’s idea. He always wanted to have a son, but failed, had three girls. Then my mother and father were undecided (during pregnancy), and the neighbour said: put Veron. My parents liked it.”
TIF Tactics – Who is Gabriel Veron?
The 17-year-old is a right-winger by trade and has played 16 times for the Under 17’s, managing five goals and three assists. Jack Lang of the Athletic described the youngster as a touchline hugging, zig-zagging whippet of a winger and that’s pretty accurate. Lang, in his piece on the player also said: “The original Veron was languid, elegant. He played football in cruise control. This new Veron is twitchy, explosive, always looking for the right moment to jam the pedal to the floor. The only real stylistic echo is to be found in his socks, which remain resolutely rolled down.
“Veron is a born dribbler. He is fast – very, very fast – but also measured. It’s all very well haring down the flank, but you have to know when to slow down when to bide your time. It’s in the hips – Ginga, they call it here – and it’s in the eyes: you tell your marker a story and then change the ending. One minute you’re there, and the next you’re not. Veron is still young, but he has all of that.”
His new contract at Palmeiras will run until 2024 and so given the hype around the starlet it’s unlikely the club would be willing to entertain any offers below the release clause. If City want their man, they will need to make a serious offer as well as fend off the competition from the likes of Manchester United, Barcelona and Real Madrid.