Marcelo Pitalunga has been linked with Liverpool.
The Brazilian is only 17-years-old but is considered a bright prospect for the future, and the Reds are extremely keen to sign the player.
We reported, via Globo Esporte, that the club are even prepared to offer his Father a job in order to get the deal over the line.
That move appears to be edging closer to completion. We shared a report from Brazilian outlet UOL that said terms are pretty much agreed – all that needed to be done was cross the Ts and dot the Is.
But Liverpool fans in England know very little about Marcelo Pitalunga, so we turned to @Somos_Liverpool for some help. Where better to go than to some Brazilian fans of this great club that we love?
We asked them a few questions about Pitalunga, how he’s viewed in Brazil and the potential he might have. Scroll below to get the inside scoop into the man they feel could be our new first choice goalkeeper in the years to come!
What sort of football pedigree has Pitalunga got. Is he a late developer, or has he always been highly rated?
He still has a lot to develop in the physical part, since he is only 17-years-old, but he has great technical capacity! At 16, he was already the first choice as a goalkeeper for the Fluminense U20. He’s also participated in the Brazilian U15, U16 and U17 team, having won the U17 World Cup last year.
Liverpool seem serious about his future then?
He has a lot of potential and is considered one of the great promises of Fluminense, but I can’t imagine he gets to the first team! It is likely, the news here in Brazil says that Liverpool sees Pitaluga as a replacement for Alisson, so it would be something in the long run. Alisson knows him, and got to train with him on vacation here in Brazil.
Will the club sell?
Fluminense is known here in Brazil for revealing great players, but due to financial problems the club always tries to sell them to Europe, as is the case with Pitaluga. Just like Marcelo and Thiago Silva, for example!
Anything else to add?
Marcelo Pitaluga is a goalkeeper considered very promising in Fluminense and also of the Brazilian U17 team at the World Cup. But he is still a young goalkeeper and did not get a chance on the professional team, remaining only on the bench in some games.