Newcastle United's head of recruitment Steve Nickson has been back to Brazil for another scouting mission.
Nickson was in the stands to see long-term Toon target Gabriel Barbosa grab the winner in Flamengo's 2-1 win over Santos at Vila Belmiro. The United talent spotter was in South America to run a check on Barbosa - who is available for a move this summer - as well as take a look at Ângelo Gabriel according to Globo Esporte.
Angelo is deemed Brazil's latest wonderkid with the Serie A youngster shining for the world famous Santos. Nickson's connections in Brazil are well known by now after the signing of Joelinton for £40million in 2019 and the arrival of Bruno Guimaraes this year.
It was Nickson himself that travelled to Brazil to spearhead Bruno's move from Lyon in January when the player was on international duty. And Chronicle Live understands that Nickson has been networking again with club chiefs and scouts ahead of potential moves for more talent from Brazil.
A fee of £17million has been mooted for Angelo by Santos but no offer is on the table yet for the winger. As reported by Chronicle Live yesterday Barbosa is a long-term option for Newcastle.
The 25-year-old is keen to play in the Premier League and United see him as a potential back-up option for Eddie Howe's squad. Barbosa knows he would not be first choice if he made the switch, however, he is eager to get back to Europe after an ill-fated spell with Inter Milan.
Branded a flop in Italy, Barbosa is keen to show that he can transfer his goalscoring prowess - which sees him sitting on almost 150 goals in Brazil - to the Premier League. Meanwhile, United remain in talks for Moussa Diaby of Bayer Leverkusen with the German side demanding £60million for his services.
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