Santos tries to sign Flamengo's gem

Looking for reinforcements after hiring Argentine coach Vojvoda, Santos is targeting midfielder Victor Hugo, a promising Flamengo player who hasn't been getting opportunities under coach Filipe Luís. Santos' director of football, Alexandre Mattos, contacted Flamengo's CEO, José Boto, to begin talks about a possible deal.

The negotiation model would be a loan, but the transaction is considered difficult at Flamengo. Famalicão, from Portugal, has also shown interest in the player, who has a contract until 2028 (the transfer window in Portugal runs until September 15, while in Brazil it closes on the 2nd).

A Flamengo graduate, Victor Hugo was promoted to the first team in 2022 and has already played over 100 matches for the club. The following year, he was a starter under Jorge Sampaoli, the coach with whom he enjoyed his best spell. During that period, the club rejected an offer from Wolverhampton Wanderers of England worth €20 million (approximately R$107 million at the time).

Both Flamengo and the player's agent, who was seen as one of the top prospects in the youth academy, felt it wasn't the ideal time to sell. However, after Sampaoli's departure, the midfielder lost ground and ended up being loaned to Goztepe in Turkey for a year. Before returning to Flamengo in July, Famalicão tried to move forward with the player's signing.

Initially, Flamengo agreed to loan Victor Hugo without any payment requirements, but retained 50% of his economic rights to profit from a future sale. However, the negative reaction weighed heavily, and the board decided that, at the very least, some amount should be involved or that the loan should be formalized. This prevented the negotiation from happening.

Upon returning to Flamengo, Victor Hugo spoke with Filipe Luís, who began to see him as a right winger. The problem was the fierce competition in that position, with Luiz Araújo, Plata, Saúl, and Matheus Gonçalves among them. The coach didn't guarantee the player a chance. Since then, the midfielder has been included in just two games and played for just 11 minutes in the 1-1 draw against Ceará at Castelão.

Last week, he traveled with the team to Porto Alegre, but was left off the bench for the 3-1 victory over Internacional in the Brasileirão. He was also not registered for the Libertadores, as Flamengo used the five roster spots to register reinforcements such as Emerson Royal, Jorginho, Saúl, Carrascal, and Samuel Lino. With the increase in signings and the return of injured players, the youngster is likely to have even fewer opportunities.