LONDON (The Sun) - As Palmeiras and Oeste finished their warm-ups on 19 January, scouts from Barcelona, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Southampton, Ajax and Benfica all took their seats ready for the quarter-finals of the Copa Sao Paulo, Brazil’s premier youth competition.
They were mostly there to watch Endrick. The 15-year-old striker had taken the under-21 tournament by storm, having scored four goals up to that point and making an even bigger impact than Brazil and Paris St-Germain star Neymar did at the same age.
Not even in their wildest dreams could they have anticipated, though, what they were about to see.
In the 13th minute the ball dropped behind the Palmeiras wonderkid and, without giving it much thought, he produced a bicycle kick from outside the box which dipped perfectly into the net.
“I think we might be seeing a very special talent emerging,” said Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker.
All of a sudden, he was being compared to Brazil striking legend Ronaldo and some of the country’s other iconic attacking players.
Endrick did not stop there, going on to score in the 4-0 final win against Santos and was named the most valuable player of the Copinha, as the competition is affectionately known.
None of this came as a surprise, however, for those already familiar with a boy who, last year, featured for Palmeiras in the Sao Paulo State Championship finals in the under-15, under-17 and under-20 age groups.
Many back home wanted him included in the squad the South American champions have taken to the Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates this month. But Portuguese coach Abel Ferreira ruled out any chance of Endrick making the trip and being involved in a potential meeting with Chelsea.
Regardless of that, it seems a matter of time before he plays at a higher level and, for him, time clearly moves faster.