€100m release clause 

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Few nations, if any, have produced the conveyer belt of talent as Brazil across history and Eduardo Conceição is the latest wonderkid on the production line. Pelé, Ronaldo Luís Nazário, Ronaldinho and Neymar were all world-renowned superstars and there’s a plethora of starlets beginning to emerge from the South American nation. Despite only being 16 years old, Conceição is generating fervent levels of excitement in his homeland after incredibly impressive performances for Palmeiras and Brazil’s youth teams.

The left-winger remained relatively unknown until lighting up the recent U17 South American Championships with four goal contributions in three games, including an excellent finish against rivals Argentina in a 3-0 win. Unsurprisingly, Conceição is generating significant interest from European powerhouses with Manchester City leading the race ahead of PSG and Chelsea. Transfermarkt understands that Palmeiras have already rejected bids of around €25 million for their prized asset and he has a release clause of €100m. With City’s interest escalating, we’ve spoken to Thiago Rabelo, Transfermarkt’s Brazilian football expert and one of the most respected journalists in South America, to gain insight.

Who is Eduardo Conceição?

Conceição didn’t have the hype of aforementioned Brazilians as he progressed through Palmeiras’ academy but comparisons to Endrick and Estêvão are unavoidable. The attacking duo are Pameiras’ two record sales in history and two of the best Brazilian talents currently. Conceição has yet to make his professional debut but Rabelo has analysed the comparisons to the aforementioned duo.

“Although he did not receive early recognition like his predecessors, the expectation is that Eduardo will achieve the same feats as the Lyon and Chelsea duo,” said Rabelo. “Conceição is the new rising star of Brazilian football. Following in the footsteps of Endrick and Estêvão, Palmeiras have another talented attacker, who is set to shine in Europe. Eduardo is a player who operates on the flanks and possesses great pace when dribbling. His style is reminiscent of Estêvão’s, but quite different from Endrick’s. Whilst Endrick is a centre-forward with excellent finishing ability who likes to play centrally, Eduardo’s style similar to Estêvão’s, with great pace and ease on the ball. Eduardo has more pace and strength than Estêvão, but in a little bit lower level about skill.”

Manchester City’s transfer interest

It’s understood that City are leading the race for Conceição and want to secure his signature this summer. Barcelona are also firmly in the running but their interest will be dependent on the potential cost of the deal with their financial constraints well-documented. Transfermarkt understands that Palmeiras won’t entertain bids under €35m and they want a total financial package with add-ons included that are closer to their record sale of Endrick to Real Madrid for €47.5m. Especially since the arrival of Hugo Viana as director of football, City have targeted the best talent in the world and Conceição is viewed as that.

On his future, Rabelo added: “Palmeiras is the club with the greatest financial stability in Brazil. In recent years, the club has received almost €300 million from player sales, thanks to having the best youth academy in Brazil and not being forced to sell players at the first offer that comes along. Eduardo Conceição will be yet another significant sale for Palmeiras. At 16, he is already being discussed by the world’s biggest football clubs and will not leave the club for less than 35 million euros. An interesting fact about Conceição is that his agent is Douglas Sousa, Endrick’s father.”