Newcastle United are reportedly considering making a January transfer offer to sign Vasco de Gama midfielder Andrey Santos. 

The Lowdown: Santos' career so far

At the age of 18, Santos has made 37 senior appearances for the Rio de Janeiro club in all competitions. In that time, the youngster has found the net on eight occasions, highlighting how much of a goal threat he can offer from the middle of the park.

With the January transfer window approaching, it seems as though the Magpies have the teenager on their radar, although they face competition for his signature from one of their top-flight rivals.

The Latest: Newcastle consider Santos offer

According to a recent report from Goal Brazil, the Magpies are competing with fellow Premier League side Chelsea to sign the midfielder during the upcoming transfer window.

The report adds that Santos has a release clause of €40m (£34m) in his current contract and that Vasco are looking to make him the biggest sale in the club's history after selling Paulinho for a fee of €18.5m (£15m) in 2018.

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The Verdict: Go for it

With only three others at Vasco play more minutes in the league than Santos across the 2022 campaign, this shows how pivotal a figure the youngster already is for the club.

Across his 33 appearances, in which he scored eight goals, the midfielder also racked up the third-highest number of shots at goal (47) and the second-most shots on target (17) at the Sao Januario.

From a defensive point of view, only four Vasco players made more interceptions than Santos (26), who also made the second-highest number of tackles (62) at the club.

 

This showcases just how talented the teenager is at providing an attacking threat and also how useful and effective he can be off the ball in trying to win back possession for his team.

Taking all of that into account, it's clear that Santos is a very promising young talent, and we feel that Newcastle could be making a very smart investment if they beat Chelsea to his signature in January, especially if he can learn from the likes of compatriot Bruno Guimaraes.