Man City and every other elite European side wants Jesus
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If Manchester City are to land the young Brazilian striker they are rumoured to crave, they will have won one hell of a battle to do so.
Gabriel Jesus, the supposed next big thing to emerge for the Canarinho, is not only coveted by the Citizens, but Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Inter Milan as well.
That is one mighty-fine list of European powerhouses, all of them keen to make Jesus their man. So what’s so special about him?
Well, for starters he was voted Newcomer of the Year in the Brazilian top-flight last season, a campaign in which he scored four goals in 20 league appearances. Palmeiras also secured the Copa Do Brasil that year.
Already this term the 19-year-old has upped his game in front of goal. In 10 outings Jesus has netted eight times, while adding another four in five Copa Libertadores assignments too.
That kind of production has rightly alerted the gaggle of elite European sides that now court him, while endorsements from such Samba icons as Ronaldo certainly add weight to the teenagers’ growing reputation.
Inter Milan have been the first club to show their hand, according to media reports, probably because they’re the outsiders of the bunch.
But if City, the Nerazzurri or any of the other suitors for Jesus’ signature are to land their man, they’ll have to safely navigate the maze that is his ownership deal.
Similar to the deal that Carlos Tevez was once famous for, Jesus’ ownership rights are split 70%-30% between a group of entrepreneurs and Palmeiras respectively.
One boon to City’s chances of signing the Sao Paulo native is the fact that the forward has a clause in his contract that allows four specifically-named clubs to sign him at a knock-down price.
The Etihad outfit are, handily, one of that quartet, according to Italian paper La Gazzetta dello Sport, along with Bayern, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
