By OkayGoal
Brighton are expected to be the first club to make a formal offer for Atlético Mineiro’s 18-year-old centre-back Vitão, with around €14m on the table for a January move. Everton are also interested, and Real Madrid are keeping a close eye on him.
According to Brazilian journalist Jorge Nicola, the teenager is unlikely to stay at Atlético Mineiro for much longer. He has become a regular starter in Eduardo Domínguez’s side this season and is currently away with Brazil’s under-20s during the international break.
For Brighton, it is a familiar move: find a young South American defender before the rest of Europe catches up, and pay a fee that looks small next to what he could be worth in two years.
What are Brighton offering for Vitão?
The Seagulls, second in the Premier League table, are preparing a bid of around €14m and want to bring Vitão to England when the window opens in January.
That figure is still short of his release clause. Foreign clubs can trigger a €20m clause in his contract, so Atlético are under no obligation to accept anything less, and Brighton would need to find the other €6m or convince the Brazilian club to deal below it.
Ownership is another detail to watch. Atlético hold 80% of the player’s economic rights, while the remaining 20% is split between Vitão and his representatives, Lincoln and Adriano Spadoto.
Why Atlético could struggle to keep him
Atlético have tried to extend his contract, both to give him a pay rise and to push his release clause higher. Those talks have not moved forward in recent weeks.
That leaves the Galo in an awkward spot. Vitão is still on one of the lowest salaries of any regular starter in Brazil’s Série A, at R$25,000 a month, which makes a Premier League offer very hard to turn down for the player. His performances have also earned plenty of praise from Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil coaching staff.
It has not all been smooth, though. He was sent off against Grêmio last Saturday in the Copa do Brasil semi-final, a draw that sent Grêmio through to the final at Atlético’s expense.
Where do Everton and Real Madrid stand?
Everton are named as the other English club keen on Vitão, but there is no sign yet that David Moyes’ side are preparing a bid of their own. The Toffees have been busy elsewhere in the rumour mill too, with reports this week linking them with a January move for Kevin De Bruyne.
Real Madrid are monitoring him closely as well, though there is no talk of an approach from the Spanish side at this stage.
Is Vitão the next Brighton bargain?
Brighton’s defence is hardly a problem right now. Hurzeler’s side have the best goal difference in the league, and their keeper has been turning down talk of a move to Liverpool or Villa on the back of the most clean sheets in the division. But the club rarely buys for today. It buys for the moment a big club comes calling for one of its own.
A €14m bid for an 18-year-old starter, with Real Madrid already watching, fits that model perfectly. If the contract talks stay stuck, Atlético may find a €20m clause is the most they can hope to protect, and Brighton are the side best placed to test it first.