Tottenham Hotspur are monitoring the progress of highly-rated midfielder Gabriel Menino, according to reports...
What's the word?
Sky Sports claim that the north Londoners have been looking into signing talent from South America after the region was opened up to new work permit regulations following Brexit.
The young Palmeiras star is one man who Spurs, among other clubs, have scouted ahead of the summer transfer window.
Menino has emerged as one of Brazil's brightest prospects and has impressed in both central midfield and at right-back.
Imagine him and Hojbjerg
It's no surprise to see Jose Mourinho in the market for potentially a new midfielder ahead of next season, with rising doubts over several of his current options.
Harry Winks has been linked with an exit following a serious lack of game time this season - Sport (via Sport Witness) claim the Englishman will 'insist' on a departure from his boyhood club.
Moussa Sissoko at 31 isn't getting any younger and has been out of Mourinho's starting XI for eight straight league outings, ever since that 1-0 defeat to Chelsea.
And there will be concerns over Dele Alli's future as he's still not getting regular game time this season, even after Daniel Levy blocked an exit to Paris Saint-Germain in January. According to Football Insider, the Lilywhites will not do the same should they come calling again this summer.
Therefore, eyeing up a new midfield star is a wise call, and they should look no further than Menino as he could well become Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's long-term partner in the engine room.
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Dubbed the 'Brazilian Yaya Toure,' the 20-year-old prodigy has studied the former City sensation profusely by watching videos of him, and some fruits of that labour were seen when he fired home a stunning strike from range against Bolivar in the Copa Libertadores last year.
In 2013/14, the Ivorian was simply unplayable and perhaps recorded one of the greatest individual seasons of all time. He scored 20 goals and provided nine assists from midfield, created 40 chances and still managed a 90% passing accuracy from 35 appearances, as per GiveMeSport.
Toure was an astonishingly good box-to-box enforcer, and that's exactly what is required in north London. Hojbjerg, who averages 2.7 tackles and 1.8 fouls per league game, is certainly a more defensively-minded option whilst Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso have had some of their best games in the no.10 role.
Menino can fulfil that role, even with Oliver Skipp set to return from a successful loan spell in the summer. As per WhoScored, the Brazillian wonderkid provided six assists from only 24 starts, and displayed his ability in either box, averaging 1.2 tackles, 1.2 dribbles, 1.3 shots and 1.5 key passes per game.
Evidently, he can read the game in his team's own third, just as much as he can deliver in an attacking sense too.
The £12.6m-rated gem's form, both in central midfield and at right-back, caught the eye of Brazil boss Tite and whilst he's yet to pick up a senior cap, that day will surely come soon having featured seven times at U20 level.
His versatility would be a welcome benefit too, especially given the uncertainty and suspicions over the future of the struggling Matt Doherty, who according to ESPN, could be made available for transfer come the summer.
Furthermore, Mourinho handed Casemiro his Real Madrid debut in 2013, and that is another player Menino has modelled his game on, so that should please the Spurs boss immensely, too.
It remains to be seen how much Palmeiras would command for their undoubted a star of the future, but it's a move that chairman Daniel Levy must consider irrespective of price. If he has half the impact of Toure, then Spurs are onto a winner.
Just imagine him alongside Hojbjerg.
AND in other news, Spurs handed Sergio Reguilon boost