Football Wonderkid Scout

British sports tabloid The Daily Mail report that Premier League club Bolton Wanderers are interested in signing FC Barcelona midfielder and Spanish youth international Thiago Alcantara on a season-long loan. The 19 year-old midfielder who recently shone at the Under-19 Uefa European Championships has yet to make his breakthrough at the Catalan club and could seek a loan more in order to gain more first team experience. Hailed as the jewell in the crown in Barcelona's youth ranks, Thiago is tipped for a bright futureand Bolton manager Owen Coyle hopes to hold talks with the starlet this week in order to convince the youngster over a move to the Premier League.

With Coyle failing in his attempt to re-sign English wonderkid Jack Wilshere for another season on loan, Coyle appears keen on recruiting the services of Thiago in order to improve the quality of his midfield. It remains to be seen whether Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola will be willing to let the outrageously talented midfielder leave. With Barcelona tangled with debt problems and the
departure of several high profile players, Guardiola's squad appears a little short on the ground and has already stated his desire to bring through several of the new La Masia graduates. Bolton have already successfully completed the signing of Real Madrid Castilla left-back and Spain U-20 international Marcos Alonso for a fee of around £3 million, although he failed in his attempts to sign team-mate Rodrigo who opted to sign for Portugese giants Benfica.

16/08/10

Catalan sports paper Sport report that Primera Liga club Deportivo La Coruna are interested in signing Barcelona defender and Spanish youth international Marc Muniesa . The 18 year-old has become the object of desire for Augusto César Lendoiro and Miguel Angel Lotina, the president and coach of Deportivo la Coruna respectively. For the past several days, the Galician club have been trying to capture the young Catalan centre half. It is hoped Muniesa will occupy the left side of the Deportivo defense, that has been left void by the departure of Brazilian full back Filipe Luis to Atletico Madrid, as Muniesa is known to play both as a center-half or as a left full-back with equal effect.

However, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola does not seem too keen on letting go of one of the key parts of his future defense. Firstly with the reserves now playing in the second division, Muniesa will already be up against an opposition of much higher quality compared to the third division, so a transfer to the first division dosen’t really seem a necessity. Secondly Barca B coach Luis Enrique wants to have his best possible squad available for the next season and thus wants to hold on to his young defender. In addition, Muniesa is one of the players that Pep Guardiola is set to count on to help the first team during the season. Although a year in the First Division team would still be a very positive experience for the defender.

16/08/10

The latest player linked to a move to the Estadio da Luz is Gremio's Maylson Barbosa and the striker's agent Jorge Machado, believes that the young midfielder would be making the right decision. "Benfica are a very good club for Maylson," stated Machado. "Who doesn't know them? They are huge - a historic club in European football and the world. They also have a lot of Brazilians there, so the adaptation should be easy." "There has been a lot of talk of other clubs, but it's all speculation. He is a player whose value is always increasing as he is always in the Brazilian national team since the U17s. He has a high level of potential. It's natural that he has value in Europe."

The attacking midfielder won the Under-20 South American Championships with Brazil and is highly coveted by a number of clubs. Reports are circulating that Benfica are keen to make a move for the Gremio played who has a release fee of £7million to fill the void after the departures of Angel Di Maria and Ramires. With Gremio currently in the relegation zone of the Brasileirao, the Brazilian outfit maybe tempted to cash in on one of their prized assets.

16/08/10

Brazilian club Goias have confirmed that FC Porto have an interest in their Under-20 international central defender Rafael Tolói. Porto are in the market for defensive reinforcements following the sale of Bruno Alves to Zenit Saint Petersburg earlier in the months. The Dragons who have been strongly linked to Braga's Alberto Rodriguez, but 19-year old Rafael Tolói has also emerged as a possible recruit for Andre Villas Boas' squad. Helping his club win the Campeonato Goiano in 2009, Tolói is widely regarded as one of the most promising young defenders in Brazil.

“I can confirm that there has been contact, not directly between ourselves and the leaders of FC Porto, but through the player’s representatives,“ Goias sporting director Marcelo Seguardo told Record. “We have 50% of the player’s rights. We value the player at €8m.” One possible factor that could facilitate a move to Portugal is the identity of Rafael Toloi’s representative, who owns the other half of the defender’s rights. Juan Figer is an agent extremely familiar to Porto, having moved former Internacional striker Walter to the Dragao in a protracted transfer last month.

16/08/10

FC Porto directors have travelled to Argentina in order to negotiate the transfer of Velez Sarsfield’s €7m-rated defender Nicolas Otamendi, according to reports. Andre Villas Boas is still in the hunt for a new defender to add to his squad, following the departure of Bruno Alves to Zenit Saint-Petersburg earlier this month. Porto’s primary target for the position was Goias stopper Rafael Toloi, but that move appears to have broken down in recent days. The Dragons appear to have turned their attention to Otamendi, who represented Argentina in the World Cup in South Africa. Various reports in Portugal on Wednesday morning claimed that a delegation from Porto had been dispatched to Buenos Aires in order to broker a deal for the 22-year-old.

“We know that FC Porto has sent people here to Argentina,” Velez vice president Miguel Calello told Maisfutebol. “For us, this is preferable because we like to negotiate directly. However, for now, I can assure you that we have not arranged a meeting. “When they arrive, we will talk. I do not want to talk about numbers. Until now, the only offer we have had came from Zaragoza, which was rejected. And the rest were indirect approaches.”

21/08/10

The Gazzetta dello Sport are reporting that Argentine starlet Rogelio Funes Mori has been offered by Los Millionarios to Italian outfit Fiorentina. Viola coach Sinisa Mihajlovic is believed to be wanting to add firepower to his side after losing Stevan Jovetic to injury. Reports claim that they are willing to do business if they can take Fiorentina midfielder Mario Bolatii on loan in exchange for the 19 year-old.

Funes Mori made his official debut for the Argentinian side in December 2009 and has since developed into an integral part of the club's first team. The young attacker was previously linked with Serie A giants Juventus, but the Turin side never made a concrete offer for Funes Mori. Funes Mori has started the season in fine form, scoring 3 goals in 3 games in the Argentine Primera Division, including two in Sunday's El Clasico against Independiente.

23/08/10

Manchester United are set to continue their policy of buying young players as they target Greek wonder kid Sotiris Ninis. The 20-year-old Greece international, who has an £8 million release clause in his contract with Panathinaikos, is seen as the solution to United’s need for a creative midfielder.It was reported back in April that Manchester United were compiling a dossier on Greek youngster Sotiris Ninis and that Sir Alex Ferguson had sent scouts to watch the midfielder on several occasions.

Last week it was reported by the Sunday Mirror that although AC Milan and Real Madrid are also chasing Ninis, Manchester United have opened talks with the Athens club with a view to a deal being struck at the end of the season.Ninis, the youngest ever player to appear for Panathinaikos and now captain of the Greek giants, played 36 games last season, scoring four goals and providing five assists. He has also played seven matches for the Greece national team.

13/09/10

British tabloid newspaper Daily Mirror reports that Barcelona and Manchester United would be interested in Internacional Porto Alegre forward Andrigo (15). Andrigo is regarded as one of the most talented players in Brazil and looks likely to be selected for next year’s South American under-17 championships.

Andrigo attracted the interest of both Barcelona and Manchester United scouts during a youth tournament in Manchester. Barcelona have reportedly already invited the promising forward for a trial at the Camp Nou. However, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has also invited Andrigo for a trial at Old Trafford, and is reportedly hoping to meet personally with the player.

24/09/10

Spanish newspaper AS reports that several European top clubs, including Barcelona, would be interested in Malaga forward Juanmi (17). The young striker’s great performance against Real Zaragoza has reportedly attracted the interest of top clubs, including Barcelona, Chelsea and Real Madrid. AS comments that despite Juanmi making only a few appearances in Malaga’s first team, his two goals against Zaragoza has alerted many to his abilities.

Juanmi is the youngest player in Spanish League history to score two goals in one match. The promising striker signed a new five-year contract with Malaga in August, with a buy-out clause of 10 million euros, which makes him a tempting choice for bigger clubs, such as Barcelona. Juanmi has gained the trust of Malaga coach Jesualdo Ferriera, who has started the youngster ahead of more established forwards such as Albert Luque. However, AS comments that Juanmi’s situation could end up similar to that of Spanish youth international Sergio Canales (19), who made his breakthrough in Racing Santander last season, and was quickly signed by Real Madrid.

24/09/10