Madrid steal United scout to keep an eye on Vinicius Jr

Real Madrid splashed the cash to sign of the hottest prospects in Brazilian football, and Vinicius Jr continues to impress for Flamengo. Florentino Perez spent 45 million euros on the player he will hope becomes a future star, and he will expect the striker will start to repay the transfer fee as soon as he arrives at the Bernabeu after his 18th birthday next summer.

Although Vinicius has averaged just half an hour of gametime per match so far this season, he already has three goals and an assist for Flamengo. In order to keep a close eye on the 17-year-old striker, Los Blancos have decided to hire Paulo Henrique Xavier, better known as Paulinho.

The Brazilian was previously a scout at Manchester United, and will be in charge of tracking the movements of the Flamengo striker, as well as searching high and wide in South America for the next great star to come from the continent, according to the aforementioned source.

The idea is for the teenager to arrive in Spain's capital in 2019, but he could do so earlier if both clubs come to an agreement.