Barcelona targets former Brasileirão number 10 and prepares attack

Barcelona aims to sign the Brazilian Caio Henrique for the next season. The 28-year-old player has played for Monaco, from France, for six seasons and is one of the athletes on coach Carlo Ancelotti’s radar for the next World Cup. The information is from UOL.

Originally a midfielder who played for Paraná Clube in 2018, Caio Henrique became a left-back under the command of Fernando Diniz at Fluminense in 2019.

It was exactly after the change of role that the career of the athlete revealed by Santos and with a discreet spell at Atlético de Madrid took off. He would still have a quick spell at Grêmio in 2020, before being signed by Monaco for the 2020/21 season.

In the current French season he has already played 34 matches and provided two assists. Also according to UOL, Barça has already consulted businesspeople linked to the player. Monaco, on the other hand, does not rule out a sale, being willing to open talks starting at 15 million euros (R$88 million at current prices).

On the Barcelona side, the person leading the conversations is the former Portuguese-Brazilian midfielder Deco. Initially, the Catalan club’s priority was the Spanish Marc Cucurella, from Chelsea-ING. However, the English club plays hard for the athlete.

In addition to the names mentioned, Alejandro Grimaldo, from Bayer Leverkusen-ALE, is also monitored, as Barcelona is looking for a full-back with characteristics similar to those of the Portuguese João Cancelo, who could return from loan to Al-Hilal, from Saudi Arabia, after the 2026 World Cup.

Caio Henrique was number 10 in Paraná’s relegation

Caio Henrique was Paraná Clube’s main signing for the Brasileirão Series A dispute in 2018. Loaned by Atlético de Madrid, from Spain, the player arrived to wear the Paranista number 10 shirt.

Despite having demonstrated above-average technique and game vision from the beginning, the relatively slight athlete had difficulty establishing himself in a sector with greater physical demands.

In total, he ended up making 27 appearances for Tricolor, with three assists, but without managing to score a single goal at Vila Capanema. At the moment, Caio Henrique is recovering physically after a muscle injury to his thigh suffered on March 6, in Monaco’s victory over PSG.

He has already been playing for the French team again and has hopes of being called up by Carlos Ancelotti, as he had been a constant presence in the Italian’s squad before his injury.