Endrick: Brazilian, 15, matching Neymar and attracting attention from Europe's leading clubs

As Palmeiras and Oeste finished their warm-ups on 19 January, scouts from Barcelona, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Southampton, Ajax and Benfica all took their seats ready for the quarter-finals of the Copa Sao Paulo, Brazil's premier youth competition.

They were mostly there to watch Endrick. The 15-year-old striker had taken the under-21 tournament by storm, having scored four goals up to that point and making an even bigger impact than Brazil and Paris St-Germain star Neymar did at the same age.

Not even in their wildest dreams could they have anticipated, though, what they were about to see.

In the 13th minute the ball dropped behind the Palmeiras wonderkid and, without giving it much thought, he produced a bicycle kick from outside the box which dipped perfectly into the net.

«I think we might be seeing a very special talent emerging,» said Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker.

All of a sudden, he was being compared to Brazil striking legend Ronaldo and some of the country's other iconic attacking players.

Endrick did not stop there, going on to score in the 4-0 final win against Santos and was named the most valuable player of the Copinha, as the competition is affectionately known.

«I can't recall any other player of his age in recent history doing what he did,» his advisor Frederico Pena, chief executive of TFM — the same sports agency who work with Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr and Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli — told BBC Sport.

«The way he handled all the pressure was impressive because sometimes you see a kid having a great game and then struggling to maintain the same level of performance. That didn't happen to him. Despite contracting Covid-19 during the campaign, he actually only got better.»

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