By Football Wonderkids speaking to Alex Barker

22nd Nov, 2022 | 3:40pm

Journalist: Endrick should reject Chelsea and join Real Madrid instead

We’re delighted to welcome freelance journalist Alex Barker, also known as Euro Expert, who has worked for Breaking The Lines, GFFN and more, as our exclusive columnist. Each week he will be giving his views on the biggest talking points on Wonderkids across the UK…

Palmeiras wonderkid Endrick should reject interest from Chelsea and join Real Madrid instead when he eventually moves to Europe, says Alex Barker.

The 16-year-old talent has been linked with a mega-money move to the continent after breaking into his boyhood team as a 15-year-old earlier this year, with many comparing his rise to prominence with the likes of Neymar.

But while Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain are pushing hard to convince him to move to their clubs for their projects, Barker feels Real Madrid hold the advantage in any race because of how they have developed other Brazilians like Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo Goes.

“I’ve had a bit of a look at him, particularly last year and I read up on his story because it’s not just recently where he’s been breaking through,” he told The Football Wonderkids.

“He made his first-team debut aged 15 and he’s 16 now. It’s clearly a crazy talent. Really getting Martin Odegaard vibes where everyone has stepped up and realised this is a super talent who needs to be playing as high level football as soon as possible.

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“The thing that really strikes me is that he’s already got 3 goals in the Brazilian league aged 16 which is absolutely ridiculous. He shouldn’t be this prolific at such a young age.

“He does look like a very, very exciting player.

“I think it makes much more sense for him to move to Real Madrid.

“At Chelsea they’re laying down the groundwork for this project but they’re such a volatile club. There’s still volatility around Graham Potter and the fans.

“I think you’re risking a lot by going to Chelsea, whereas Real Madrid, they’ve proven with Vinicius, they’ve proven with Rodrygo, and they’ve even proven to a lesser extent with Eder Militao.

“If you’re a young player, particularly a young Brazilian player, and you have high aspirations and you think you’re good enough, you move to Madrid and they have a very clear plan and it will get you going.”

In other Chelsea news, the club are interested in signing academy starlet Tristan Rowe