Michael Edwards to take Vinicius Junior path

Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards is set to take the Vinicius Junior path as he seeks further recruits before the next season.

Teams in Europe have been scouting in South America for ages but the game there has changed. Players aren’t sticking around until they’re 22 or 23, they now move when they’re 17-years-old. And Liverpool could be trying to get in on the action.

Values have gone through the roof, too, and we can see plenty of examples of that through the transfers of starlets like Vinicius Junior. The Real Madrid starlet was signed by the La Liga outfit for £40.50m. Two years ago.

The same can be said of Rodrygo, who is also 19, and like his countryman was sold for the same fee in 2019. Reinier is the latest one to go as Real moved on a £27 million fee from Flamengo after just 15 first team games.

They’d both played 49 games for their Brazilian clubs but moved for fees far higher than what we’ve seen for domestic based players. Vinicius Junior has featured for prominitely for Madrid than Rodrygo, who is still finding his feet.

Ajax have committed £14.18 million for Antony from São Paulo. That will be their third largest signing ever, for a man with just 35 senior appearances under his belt.

Which brings us to Talles Magno, the man who Liverpool have been linked with. The 17-year-old has just two goals from 17 appearances for Vasco da Gama, but that’s been enough to spark media reports linking him with a move to Europe and perhaps the Reds.

The value has been disputed. Anfield Edition have said that AS reckon he’ll cost around the same as Reinier, but that report proved hard to find. Other articles claim Vasco would be willing to accept something a lot smaller due to their financial issues.

But the intent is the same. Liverpool would be paying for potential here, and Magno does appear to have potential. He was listed by the Guardian as one of the best 60 footballers in his generation, but we all know the path to success isn’t as easy as that.

He probably won’t go for the same price as Vinicius Junior, but it’s clear that football clubs are trying to follow that model: sign them in their teens, pay big money and hope the investment comes off.