Gabigol and Malcolm: Two Brazilian stars who Barcelona are very keen on

Barcelona have been following the market for months, keeping an eye out for players who they can convert into the next stars of football. Their eyes cover the world and in Brazil there are two players who are considered the successors to Neymar: Gabriel Barbosa Almedia, ‘Gabigol’, from Santos and Malcolm Silva, from Corinthians.

The Azulgrana are already well positioned in the race to sign both players, although they have not yet made any firm offers for the latter. 

Two people from the club travelled to Brazil in December to follow the Under-20 Brasileirao, a tournament participated in by all of the best clubs in Brazil. The objective was to find promising players, but also to make contact with Gabigol.

Barça paid €7.5million to Santos in the Neymar operation for the rights to Gabigol, as well as two other players, Victor Andrade and Giva. These two have not developed as desired, but Gabigol is shining in Brazil and various European teams are interested.

And it is for that reason Barça have tried to get the deal under control in recent months. In their last trip to Brazil, the two members of the the club, Urbano Ortega and Miqui Albert, didn't manage to sort anything out, but there will be another meeting around the Under-20 Suramericano in January.

It's likely that this meeting will be with Albert Valentin. Barça are convinced Gabi will be an important player in the future and are also in regular conversations with his agent, Wagner Ribeiro - Real Madrid are also linked with the player.

Gabigol is a really quick forward. He can play across the front line and, at 18, is one of Brazil's big hopes for the future. It's likely he will soon debut for the national team and he has openly said he would like to play with Neymar. It seems that nearly everything is tied up.

The second Brazilian interesting Barça has exploded this season: Malcolm Silva, who is 17. He's a player in the style of Neymar and is capable of impressive performances for his age. 

His agent, Guilherme Miranda, has been in Europe recently and reports in Brazil say the player has already been offered to Barcelona. Meanwhile, Inter Milan have been linked with a €10million move for the forward, but nothing is concrete.

Barça consider Malcolm to be an interesting player, although they want to see how he evolves in the coming months. The ideal situation is that he stays in Brazil for now, but a lot depends on his owners, who are keen to make some money.

He will also be playing in the Under-20 Suramericano in January and, if he stars, Barça must decide if they move to sign him.