Daniel Cabral is highly rated at Flamengo (Getty Images)
According to Youtube channel Flazoeiro via Sport Witness (h/t MSN), Liverpool are among a host of top clubs in Europe interested in signing highly-rated Brazilian wonderkid Daniel Cabral.
Premier League rivals Man United, Man City and Chelsea are among as many as 17 clubs in Europe keeping close tabs on the young Flamengo midfielder. However, the 18-year-old recently signed a new deal at his current club until 2025 and is focussed on honing his skills with regular first-team football in his homeland. (Sport Witness h/t MSN)
A youth exponent of Flamengo, Cabral has been a regular fixture for the club across several age-group levels and made his first-team debut against Athletico Paranaense in the Copa do Brasil back in November. That remains his only competitive appearance for Flamengo till date, although the teenager has featured in the matchday squads on several other occasions.
Besides making great progress at Flamengo, Cabral has also caught the eye for Brazil’s U-17 side with 11 appearances. He was instrumental as the young Selecaos won the 2019 FIFA U-19 World Cup on home soil and also represented his nation at the 2019 U-17 South American Championship. Cabral has also earned call-ups to Brazil’s U-20 side but is yet to make an appearance at that level.
Liverpool have put in a lot of effort to strengthen at the youth and reserve level in recent times. Led by charismatic sporting director Michael Edwards, the Reds have continued to scour far corners of the globe in their quest for unearthing hidden gems. Jurgen Klopp’s side roped in a number of talented teenagers in the form of Mateusz Musialowski, Fabian Mrozek and Melkamu Frauendorf this past summer.
That represented a continuation of Liverpool’s aggressive youth recruitment policy, having snapped up top young prospects like Sepp van den Berg, Harvey Elliott over the past couple of years. Putting things into context, Daniel Cabral would be yet another exciting addition to the existing pool of burgeoning young talents at Anfield.
The Brazilian starlet has already started to make his first strides in the professional game at Flamengo, despite being just 18. That, coupled with interest from so many clubs in Europe, should be enough to indicate that there’s certainly something special about the teenager.
Yan Couto, who has also a part of Brazil’s U-17 World Cup-winning squad last year, earned a move to Man City. And Cabral could be the next gem from the country to move to English football, although the Reds once again face competition from Pep Guardiola’s side.
With Daniel Cabral expressing his desire to continue his development in Brazil, the ideal stance for Liverpool would be to sign him up in January and then loan him back to his homeland to allow him to progress with regular playtime.
Conversely, the Reds could opt to keep monitoring him with a view to a transfer further down the line. But with so many clubs vying for his signature, that would put them at risk of missing out on his services in the future.