Arsenal and Real Madrid are among a host of top European clubs who have shown an interest in signing Palmeiras centre-back Vitor Reis.
The two sides have made initial enquiries with Palmeiras and the player’s representatives regarding his availability, although there have been no formal approaches as of yet.
The centre-back renewed his contract this summer until December 2028, with his previous deal expiring in February 2027. His termination clause is €100m and Palmeiras have not set an asking price as the intention is to keep him until after the 2025 Club World Cup.
Chelsea, Liverpool and Barcelona have also expressed interest in the teenager.
Arsenal are not short of defenders, having added Riccardo Calafiori to an already impressive list of defensive options. That said, a talent like Reis is always going to be of interest to them.
The difficulty will be in persuading a young prospect to choose a club where, in Gabriel and William Saliba, Arsenal already have a pair of outstanding central defenders in their prime.
Real Madrid need a centre-back after failing to sign Leny Yoro, who joined Manchester United in July.
Carlo Ancelotti only has two first-team centre-backs available for this season — Eder Militao and Antonio Rüdiger — with David Alaba still recovering from a serious knee injury suffered last December.
The Austria international recently returned to light training, but the club do not want to take any risks with his reintegration and the plan is to reintroduce him to first-team training in December.
Reis arrived at Palmeiras in 2016 and made his professional debut for the Verdao in June, racking up 15 appearances since then, scoring two goals.
Born in 2006 — the same year as Real Madrid’s Brazilian forward Endrick — Reis has been compared to compatriots Marquinhos and Eder Militao in style and characteristics.
He has been capped 13 times by Brazil’s youth teams, always as captain.
(Ricardo Moreira/Getty Images)
