Barca, Real Madrid and PSG linked to 17-year-old Brazilian defender

The race between Europe’s top clubs to snap up the next big talent coming out of Latin America never ceases, and while Real Madrid make moves for River Plate’s Franco Mastantuono, Brazilian right-back Pedro Lima is attracting plenty of admiring glances too.

The 17-year-old has become a regular this season for Sport Recife in Brazil’s second tier, Serie B, and has already racked up two goals and two assists in his 19 games. Just one of those matches saw him come off the bench, the rest being starts. Currently he is alternating between Brazil’s under-17 side and the under-20s.

‘Cafu’s heir’ as Diario AS put it, has caught the eye of a number of top clubs in Europe, including multiple Premier League giants, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Barcelona. It is not clear whether any of them plan to move for imminently or whether he has a release clause.

While both will no doubt consider a move, their current resources may make him a less obvious move. Real Madrid’s 16-year-old right-back Jesus Fortea is regarded as one of the brightest talents in the country, while Barcelona’s 17-year-old Hector Fort is currently in the process of negotiating a new deal with the Catalan giants. If they were to move for Lima, it would perhaps get in the way of Fortea or Fort’s development, and thus would require full belief that Lima is the real deal.