Newcastle United join Chelsea and Manchester United in race for £25m Brazilian ‘jewel’

Newcastle United are reportedly ready to challenge Chelsea and Manchester United in the race to sign highly-rated Brazilian prospect Gabriel Moscardo.

The 17-year-old defensive midfielder has broken into the senior setup at Corinthians after impressing in their youth sides in recent years and made his first-team debut in a 3-0 win over Uruguayan club Liverpool in a Copa Libertadores tie in June.

Moscardo made a first senior start on the opening day of the Serie A season as his side fell to a surprise home defeat against RB Bragantino and has gone on to make 14 appearances in all competitions during the first three months of the campaign.

His form led to a maiden call-up to the Brazil Under-23s last month and he earned his first cap alongside former Magpies targets Vitor Roque and Andrey Santos in a 1-0 defeat against their Morocco counterparts.

Brazilian outlet IG Esporte have claimed several clubs across Europe are now monitoring Moscardo’s progress after it was revealed Chelsea have already been unsuccessful with an £18m offer for the midfielder. Corinthians are believed to be demanding a fee closer to the £30m-mark and that has led to a ‘cooling’ of interest from Stamford Bridge.

However, the report also states there is an ‘expectation’ Chelsea will resume talks in the new year but will face serious competition from the likes of Newcastle, Manchester United, Everton, Nottingham Forest and La Liga giants Barcelona.

Newcastle are believed to be closely monitoring the South American market and the Magpies have been linked with a number of young talents over the last 12 months including Santos forward Marcos Leonardo, Argentinos Juniors midfielder Federico Redondo and Boca Juniors left-back Valentin Barco.