Premier League clubs are lining up for overrated Real Madrid midfielder

Multiple Premier League clubs hope to sign Real Madrid midfielder Vinicius Junior, but they are making a big mistake.

According to a new report from Spanish media outlet El Desmarque,  Real Madrid’s young winger Vinicius Junior has sparked the interest of Manchester United, Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal and Wolverhampton. The top dogs in England are often linked with young players across the pond in Spain, but pursuing Vinicius Junior would be a mistake for all five teams.

Real Madrid purchased the 19-year-old from Brazilian outfit Flamengo in 2018 for a fee of £38.7m, which means the aforementioned Premier League clubs would have to exceed that price to secure the services of an unproven player. In other words, Manchester United and company would be banking on nothing more than potential.

Taking a gamble on a young player with a reasonable price tag is one thing, but no youngster with a poor track record is worthy of a major transfer that would break the transfer record of several clubs. Is Vinicius Junior a talented player with some impressive attributes? Yes, but here are two key reasons why Premier League clubs should avoid the Brazilian winger.

Statistical overview

There are several players across Europe’s top leagues who have a meaningful impact on their teams despite not scoring many goals or completing assists, but Vinicius Junior is not one of them. So far this season, Vinicius Junior has only been directly involved in two of the 33 goals Real Madrid have scored. The winger’s poor form last term, in which he only scored twice in 18 league appearances, has carried over to this campaign.

As a result, the Brazilian youngster has struggled to break into the squad and earn regular minutes under Zinedene Zidane. With only ten league appearances for the Spanish giants this season, five as a starter and five as a substitute, it is quite obvious that Vinicius Junior is not living up to the hype in Spain, and the narrative would not change in England.

More from Real Madrid

• Real Madrid dealt Eder Militao injury blow
• Jude Bellingham scores in Real Madrid debut
• Real Madrid facing uncertainty heading into new LaLiga season
• Real Madrid suffer Thibaut Courtois injury blow
• Joselu, the story behind the kid who dreamt of playing for Real Madrid

Too much competition in England

The English Premier League is a completely different world compared to La Liga. A player’s inability to perform at an elite level in Spain does not automatically mean they will struggle in England, but when looking at the five teams interested in Vinicius Junior it would be an insurmountable challenge for him to claim an integral role on any of those squads.

At Manchester United, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Daniel James have formed an impressive, dynamic partnership up top. Chelsea are also enjoying the same fate with Tammy Abraham as the primary striker and Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount playing off of him out wide.  Tottenham’s attacking core is also blessed with notable talent that includes Harry Kane, Son Heung-Min, Lucas Moura and Dele Alli.

In Arsenal’s case they already smashed their transfer record this summer for Pepe (£72m), they have two incredible strikers leading the front-line in Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, and the Gunners are now witnessing the rise of Gabriel Martinelli. Finally, we have Wolverhampton who have been flying high with Raul Jimenez, Diogo Jota and Adama Traore scoring goals and setting up big chances for their teammates in the final third of the pitch.

This goes to show that these clubs need to keep their money in their pockets. Spending over £40m for a young, unproven winger would be a wasted investment. Vinicius Junior has not impressed at Real Madrid and he would have to settle for a limited role as a super substitute at best for elite Premier League clubs. All in all, my advice to Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal and Wolves would be to take their money elsewhere and pass on a young player who is simply fast and has above-average technical skills with the ball at his feet.