What is Lincoln’s release clause and why are Barcelona and Real Madrid desperate to sign Brazil U17 and Flamengo star?
Our friends at Football Whispers profile the highly-rated teenager who could be the next Samba superstar
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Brazil is known for its non-stop flow of talent and some of the best young players from the South American country are on show at the Under-17 World Cup in India.
Arguably the brightest prospect out of all of them is 16-year-old Lincoln, who has three goals from four games so far in the tournament.
Our friends at Football Whispers have profiled the teenager who could be the next Brazilian superstar.
The forward has born in Serra in Espirito Santo, but moved to the neighbouring Rio de Janeiro state to join the setup at Flamengo aged just 11.
He signed his first professional contract with the Brazilian side last year after impressing in the youth team.
Despite not yet making his senior debut for Flamengo, he’s being compared to Adriano – with both being classic No 9s who have the knack of finding the back of the net.
That’s because the former Inter Milan and Parma striker came through the ranks at Flamengo too.
But he’s already looking much brighter than Adriano did at that age – back in 1999, he was the Flamengo striker who was with the Brazilian Under-17 squad at the World Cup in New Zealand.
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But unlike Lincoln, he wasn’t the main striking option, he was a reserve and had to make do with the No.18 shirt.
Adriano didn’t make much of an impact, failing to score throughout the tournament, despite the Seleção returning to Brazil victorious.
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Lincoln however is thriving in front of goal, finding the back of the net in all three of Brazil’s group stage matches, against Spain, North Korea and Niger.
Talking to the press after the final group game, against Niger, the 16-year-old spoke of his hopes of becoming a player at the top of the game.
“I want to keep working hard, hard, always more,” he said. “I want to be able to one day become a world-class player.”
And it seems like he has that potential indeed, with some of Europe’s biggest clubs reportedly looking at the Brazilian teenager.
According to reports in Spain, Barcelona and Real Madrid are ready to go head-to-head for the starlet.
Barcelona are said to have already started speaking with his representatives about a possible move to the Camp Nou.
Flamengo have apparently quoted a price of £26million to let him go.
The Blaugrana are thought to have followed him closely since the 2017 South American Under-17 Championships, which were won by Brazil.
Lincoln finished the tournament’s second-highest scorer with five goals, behind team-mate Vinicius Junior.
And it could be Vinicius himself who puts Madrid in the hotseat.
Real Madrid have already agreed a £40million deal to sign the talented 17-year-old.
Having also come through the youth ranks at Flamengo, he is a close friend of Lincoln, and the two could be tempted to move to Europe together.
And what’s more, Real Madrid now have a relationship in place with the Brazilian club after the Vinicius deal and that could prove vital in Lincoln’s future.
But it’s not just the two Spanish giants who have been impressed with Lincoln.
Brazilian legend Zico has predicted an exciting future for him too.
“He is devilish! I saw him playing in a final they won 5-0 and he played a great game. He has all ability to be the future No.9 for my Flamengo,” he said.
Many in Brazil will hope he stays in his home country and proves himself, but if he carries on excelling as he is at youth level, a move to Europe will surely beckon for him, and he will hope to follow in the footsteps of Neymar, Ronaldinho and Ronaldo who all moved across the world out of their comfort zone to shine.
