Talented young Brazilian striker Ângelo Gabriel has caught the attention of Chelsea through their active campaign in the transfer market. The 18-year-old, playing at Santos, is said to be set to leave for Europe with “advanced talks” for a fee of £15million.
What is his profile?
Ângelo Gabriel mainly plays on the right wing and prefers to use his left foot. He has been involved in the Santos system since he was 10 years old and has represented the Brazil national under-20 team. Making his professional debut before he turned 16, Ângelo became the second-youngest player to play for Santos, second only to legendary Coutinho, a member of Brazil’s 1962 World Cup-winning squad.
With 129 appearances for his club already, the winger has scored five goals and provided ten assists. Two of those goals have come in his 12 Serie A appearances this season, where the 18-year-old has alternated between the bench and the starting XI. He was not retained in the squad for the South American Under-20 Championship or the World Cup, which his teammate Santos Andrey participated in, as the club did not release him for these competitions.
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“At the level of Neymar”
His first coach and mentor, Betinho, describes Ângelo as being “on Neymar’s level in terms of quick dribbling and change of direction”. This young forward continues to be talked about, overtaking Rodrygo to become the youngest Santos player to feature in the Copa Libertadores. At the age of 16 years and 105 days, he also broke Juan Carlos Cardenas’ record by becoming the youngest player to score in a Libertadores game.
Although Chelsea are currently leading the race to sign him, Ângelo Gabriel has also attracted interest from big clubs such as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Liverpool since 2021.
There has even been talk of Chelsea loaning him to Strasbourg, given the established relationship between the two clubs. Although previous valuations were around £30m, it looks like Chelsea have agreed a deal for £15m.
