FC Barcelona acted quickly, but in silence. While the Spanish Champion club seemed to be in an impasse for the arrival of an attacker, the news fell on Saturday afternoon while no one expected it: Marcus Rashford will sign at Barça as part of a loan with a purchase option of 35 million euros. Hansi Flick therefore holds his new striker, and it's not over, since the Blaugrana club could still record two arrivals.
During a recent interview by Romário, the former Brazilian legend, Deco, the current sports director of FC Barcelona, was invited to evoke the young Brazilian talents under 20 who hold his attention and that of Barça. If he logically quoted Estevão, the Palmeiras nugget already coveted by the Catalans at the start of the transfer window. But Deco revealed another more discreet but just as promising name: that of Riquelme Felipe, winger of Fluminense aged only 18 years old. Still little known to the general European public, Riquelme Felipe has already made a place for itself in the first team of Fluminense with 17 appearances, a significant figure for a player of his age within a club as structured as Fluminense.
Youth and experience
Capable of evolving on the three offensive positions, it represents the typical profile that Barça likes to observe closely: versatile, technical, creative, with a significant margin of progression. Moreover, according to Mundo Deportivothe Catalan club has been following it actively for over a year via its recruiters based in South America. A strategy that is part of Deco's desire to continue to find Brazilian talents before their media explosion, in line with Barcelona traditions that led to recruiting players like Neymar or more recently Vitor Roque. Riquelme Felipe may well be the next name to monitor very closely in Catalonia.
That's not all, since the name of Denzel Dumfries returns again and again. “We have not received any formal proposal from Barça for Denzel Dumfries. There is a liberating clause, it's true … but it will soon expire, and we will move on to something else ”declared the Milanese DS Piero Ausilio on Saturday. For the Catalan media, it is a way of putting pressure on Barça so that the Catalans act quickly. According to Catalan journalist Joan Fontes, it even begins to ignite behind the scenes, and the internistist is likely to join Catalonia. Case (s) to follow …
