Newcastle United fuelled by rejection in fight for Brazilian wonderkid alongside West Ham and Crystal Palace

Newcastle United are competing with Premier League rivals Crystal Palace and West Ham United to secure the signing of Brazilian wonderkid Matheus França.

The 19-year-old has caught the attention of clubs in the top flight after turning in a series of promising performances for Flamengo in his homeland.

França joined the youth system at Flamengo at the age of 12 and was marked out early as one of the most exciting talents to come through the club and tipped to follow Vinicius Junior on a rise to greatness.

According to Globo Esporte, the Magpies join West Ham and Crystal Palace as the three clubs who have started a ‘dispute’ for the signing with official bids expected now the transfer window is open. Newcastle United were rumoured to have a €20m bid for the player turned down in January.

A long list of clubs had also been linked with the attacking midfielder, including Brighton Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen.

França is also involved in the Brazil under-20 set-up and Globo Esporte report that the young star has a huge release clause built into his contract, but FLamengo would ‘accept to listen’ to offers over €25m.

Should the teenager arrive on Tyneside, it seems unlikely that Eddie Howe will be planning on using him in the same way that seems inevitable for new arrival Sandro Tonali.

Where the former AC Milan comes with a wealth of experience, França is still taking the early steps in his career. The Brazilian made 28 appearances last season but was used relatively sparingly by the club.

A move for França would appear to be a future investment, in line with that of Yankuba Minteh, who arrived on Tyneside from Danish club OB this summer. The 18-year-old has been immediately shipped to Feyenoord on loan to gain more experience before being integrated into the first team.