Flamengo close to landing €3m Náutico striker Thiago | OneFootball

In his first season as a professional, Thiago scored eight goals for Náutico and helped lead them to the Serie C title and promotion to Brazil’s second division.

In an interview with Globo, Náutico director Ítalo Rodrigues has revealed that the club will likely strike an agreement to sell the player in the coming days.

“He had been playing a lot in Serie C, but unfortunately got injured in the match against Paysandu (in the Serie C quarter-finals),” he admitted.

“Perhaps, having not played in the final stretch in the last four games, the situation cooled down a bit. But from early November on, it has warmed up again.

“We have listened to all the clubs that are interested and we will decide what is best for the athlete and for Náutico.

“We will likely finalise negotiations in the next few days.”

Though many sides have been interested in taking the player in on loan, Náutico will only sell the player, and the club president has demanded €3m for no more than 70% of the rights to the player.

Ítalo has admitted that Flamengo are the front-runners to land the player, who would initially play for the club’s U-20 side.

“This is a very young player, which is the profile that larger clubs are looking for. The largest transfers in Europe were with athletes between 18 and 23.

“Thiago fits well in the profile and in a position (attacking side) where there is a shortage in the market.

“Nautical’s intention is to maintain part of the player’s economic rights – naturally imagining profiting from a future resale.

“We will never sell 100% of the rights to a player to any club, even if a club is willing to pay a higher price.

“We understand that Thiago is an athlete who still needs to evolve. We think he will appreciate a lot, so we do not think of selling more than 70% of his rights.”