Manchester United are looking to South America for potential signings and a new name has emerged.
There has been huge pressure on Antony since he arrived at Manchester United. This came in large part due to the huge £85 million fee the club paid for him in 2022.
Could it have worked out a little differently if United had bought him for a fraction of the price, directly from Brazil a few years earlier?
Certainly it would have provided extra funds to be spent elsewhere to strengthen the team, irrespective of the impact on Antony himself.
United are looking at the South American market for potential deals this summer, with Gustavo Nunes now on the club’s radar.
Manchester United scout Gustavo Nunes
Manchester United are making checks on Gremio winger Gustavo Nunes, sending a scout to watch him in action.
Gremio Avalanche reports United had a representative at Gremio’s recent Copa Libertadores game with Huachipato to check on the prospect.
Nunes began the game on the bench, sent on at half-time as his side slipped to a 2-0 loss to their Chilean opponents.
Who is Gustavo Nunes
Gustavo Nunes is 18-years-old and has recently broken into the Gremio first team, making his debut earlier this year.
He scored his first goal for the club in the recent Campeonato Gaucho tournament, in a 5-1 win over Santa Cruz.
Gremio have Nunes under contract until 2028, recently signing a new deal with a salary increase to reflect his promotion to the first team.
Brazilian journalist Filipe Guedes, of Futbol Mundo tells United In Focus: “Gustavo Cunha is a left-winger that became professional for Gremio on this year. He did great in Copinha, two assists and two goals, our main Youth Championship.
“On Gremio’s first team, quickly he became a regular starter on the Regional Championship. He is a fast and good dribbler.
“Also, he isn’t a greedy player, always looking for other partners that have better conditions to shoot, which is impressive, because most of young wingers usually take many wrong decisions on pitch. Reports suggests that he is already being watched by Dorival, Brazil’s coach.”
Nunes began his career in Futsal, and hails from the same region of Brazil as Neymar, who started off his football journey in the same way.
His former youth coach Marco Alves told Brazilian outlet GZH: “He was always very fast, very agile in changing direction. Seeing him acting now is not a surprise, it just validates what we saw here.”