Real Madrid recently signed 18-year-old Flamengo attacking midfielder Reinier for 30 million euros, and they have their eyes on another teenage attacker from the Brazilian club.
Florentino Perez’s strategy of signing the world’s best young players before they become clear superstar has paid off handsomely thus far. Real Madrid have two of the world’s most promising attacking prospects in Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior, who are already playing regular first-team minutes as teenagers. Meanwhile, former teenage signing Martin Odegaard is dazzling on loan at Real Sociedad, and the likes of Takefusa Kubo have shown their quality.
Los Blancos added another talented prospect to their collection this January, signing attacking midfielder Reinier Jesus Carvalho from Flamengo for 30 million euros. He is one of the most talented prospects at the position in the world, so the price tag is worth it.
However, Reinier isn’t the only Flamengo teenager who could join Real this year. According to a report from Mundo Deportivo, via 90min.com, Perez has secured the “right of first refusal” from Flamengo for 19-year-old forward Lincoln.
Last season, Lincoln scored three goals with two assists, meaning only Giorgian De Arrascaeta, who was six years older than Lincoln, had a higher average of goals and assists (minus penalties) per 90 minutes on the team.
It’s a small sample size, since Lincoln played fewer than 400 minutes, but the efficiency is encouraging. Like Reinier, Lincoln did the most with the opportunities he received. While he isn’t as lauded of a prospect as Reinier, he clearly has the talent that wouldn’t make him out of place at a club like Los Merengues.
Lincoln reportedly has a release clause above 50 million euros, which means he would be significantly more expensive than Reinier after signing an extension through 2023.
His finishing and eye for the killer pass could make him a world-class center forward for Real Madrid. With Karim Benzema getting older, Los Blancos are thinking about long-term replacements at striker, and while Luka Jovic has the quality to be the No. 9 of the future, there’s no harm in doing due diligence on Lincoln.
Spending 54 million euros to activate Lincoln’s release clause would be crazy, given Jovic costed only slightly above that and was a wildly successful Bundesliga striker. But the “right of first refusal” deal is fair for Real; it gives them a chance to sign Lincoln at an affordable rate and get “in front of the line” against other European competition.