Arsenal among teams tracking teenage star as new scout could have transfer influence

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Arsenal look set to recruit younger players for the academy sides in the summer, and are now tracking Brazilian teenager Alisson Santana.

The 18-year-old is an attacking midfielder for Brazilian Serie A side Atletico Mineiro, and he has scored once in 10 senior career appearances.

David Ornstein recently confirmed that Arsenal would make an active effort to recruit young stars for their academy, and the midfielder could be someone who comes in for this purpose.

It now appears that Arsenal are one of three teams tracking the teenager, and an appointment the club made earlier this season could influence this deal.

Arsenal scout Paulo Xavier could influence transfer deal

Brazilian journalist Beto Guerra confirmed that one English side, expected to be Arsenal, and two Spanish teams, had scouts watching Santana set up a goal against Ipatinga in Belo Horizonte recently.

Earlier this season, Arsenal pulled off a coup as they signed Brazilian scout Paulo Xavier from Real Madrid, who was highly regarded at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Xavier himself lives in Belo Horizonte, and he will be well aware of Santana’s potential talent, and may have been the Arsenal scout in attendance watching him.

The scout has close ties with Edu Gaspar, having previously worked with him before joining Arsenal, and it seems likely that if he rates Alisson Santana, the club will take his word seriously.

What kind of young players could Arsenal sign?

Arsenal may target players between the ages of 15 and 20 who could come into the academy with no initial expectation that they will join the first team.

This will enable them to develop without pressure, and should they succeed, they could be sold for a healthy profit, in a similar way to what Manchester City have done with the likes of Romeo Lavia and Cole Palmer.

Arsenal may try to identify talents they believe are not too far off first-team level, and who could aid the development of the players around them by raising the quality of the academy sides, and signing a Brazilian talent with first-team experience may fit this profile.

Given the other interest in him, it remains to be seen if Santana would be open to a move if Arsenal do pursue him, but he will be one of many players the club scout in the coming months.