Manchester United are reportedly battling it out with Manchester City and Chelsea in the race to sign 16-year-old Brazilian prodigy Estavao Willian – who has been dubbed ‘Messinho’.

The superbly nicknamed Palmeiras hotshot has also been linked with Arsenal, Barcelona and Real Madrid, among a host of elite European clubs.

And it’s a mark of the winger’s precocious talent that all of this comes before he has even made a senior appearance.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea have joined a seemingly ever-growing list of clubs keeping tabs on Estavao.

Whoever succeeds in securing his services might have to cough up a fairly hefty sum, though: the former Cruzeiro youngster is said to have a release clause of £52 million. Already compared to Lionel Messi for his style of play (hence the nickname), Estevao made the switch to Palmeiras’ academy in 2021.

Back in 2018, at the age of just 10, he signed a commercial deal with Nike – becoming the youngest Brazilian footballer ever to do so, after current Real Madrid star Rodrygo.

Estevao’s stock has shot up lately thanks to his performances at the ongoing U-17 World Cup in Indonesia.

While Brazil were knocked out in the quarter-finals by arch-rivals Argentina, ‘Messinho’ notched three goals in four appearances to make him one of the tournament’s top scorers.

And when he wasn’t putting the ball in the net himself, he provided four assists for his teammates.