Newcastle reported to have bid £20M+ for Flamengo wonderkid Victor Hugo

It's all been very, very quiet since Harvey Barnes linked up with his new Newcastle United teammates in Atlanta on Sunday. However, a new report emerged overnight in Brazil that claims the Magpies have finally made an offer in the region of £20 million for Flamengo's central midfield wonderkid Victor Hugo, after tracking him for over a year.

19-year-old Hugo has been a regular starter at the Maracanã since last season, scoring six goals and making four assists in 63 senior appearances. He can play in every phase of the midfield, appearing 16 times as a "number eight" (central midfielder), seven times as a "number ten" (attacking midfielder), and six times as a "number six" (defensive midfielder).

Drawing comparisons with former Flamengo midfielder/Newcastle target Lucas Paquetá, the predominantly left-footed Hugo stands over six feet tall and is represented by the same agency that looks after Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid and Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal.

Former Flamengo boss Paulo Sousa, who also had spells at QPR, Swansea, and Leicester, had this to say about the young midfielder when managing him:

“He has good ability to interpret spaces, plays well with his back to goal and physically he has good explosiveness. He has a very good reading of the game and is a player who can make his presence known in the area with a goal."

Hugo's under contract at Flamengo until June 2027 and has an £85 million clause, having signed new terms in 2022 after making his breakthrough. The report says that Flamengo are likely to accept a much lesser off than that for him, though £20M may not be enough.

If you've got a spare three minutes today, we'd recommend spending it on this Victor Hugo 2023 highlight reel:

If you've only got a spare 11 seconds, here's one of his best goals:

Oof. We hope he doesn't end up at Chelsea like all the other Brazilian wonderkids we've been linked with since the takeover seem to have done!