Joao Amaral, head of the scouting department at La Liga giants Barcelona, has this weekend all but confirmed the club’s interest in the signature of up-and-coming Brazilian defender Arthur Dias.
Dias, for his part, is a 19-year-old stopper, who chiefly lines out in a central role, but is also capable of filling in at left-back. Despite his tender years, the Brazilian is already one of the first names on the team sheet at Athletico Paranaense.
His stellar efforts at club level recently gave rise to a first-ever senior international call-up, culminating in his Brazil debut under the watch of Carlo Ancelotti.
And as alluded to above, this ascent on Dias’ part has evidently not gone unnoticed amongst those behind the scenes at Barcelona…
Speaking during an interview with ‘The Pitch Invaders’ (as cited by Diario Sport) this weekend, the aforementioned Joao Amaral was drawn on Barca’s ongoing search for defensive reinforcements.
And the Blaugrana scouting chief went on to admit:
“We are working on identifying profiles that have these characteristics, such as those of Artur Dias: a fast player with a great relationship with the ball. That is the profile of the centre-back that we are looking to find to strengthen the team.”
Conor Laird – GSFN
