The five-star deal that could reignite Real Madrid wonderkid’s career

Manchester United are the club best equipped to get the best of Endrick if he leaves Real Madrid, with the Brazil international currently linked with a stunning loan move to Southampton.

Endrick’s future has been a hot topic of conversation for several weeks in Madrid, with the 18-year-old publicly unhappy at his lack of playing time at the Bernabeu.

The outcome is that Southampton are rumoured to be plotting a January transfer along with Serie A side Roma and Real Valladolid of LaLiga.

Endrick, though, would be better served moving to Manchester United, according to data analytics experts SciSports, who show that outside of Los Blancos, the Old Trafford outfit are best placed to develop the exciting young talent.

Ruben Amorim’s side, who are lacking options in the centre-forward role, where Rasmus Hojlund is their sole legitimate option given that Joshua Zirkzee and Marcus Rashford playing in other positions, are given a Club Fit score of 74 – higher than any other team.

United actually rank better than Real Madrid in terms of having the capability of getting the best from Endrick, with the Old Trafford side given five stars in comparison to the Bernabeu outfit’s four.

Where the Old Trafford outfit are weaker, however, is in terms of playing style and formation, though this is, of course, based on what Erik ten Hag proposed and has not been updated for the Ruben Amorim era, purely because it is uncertain what the Portuguese may do with the starting XI.

An impossible dream

Man Utd were interested in signing Endrick prior to his decision to move to Real Madrid. Despite being major candidates to sign him at that point, a January move looks out of the question, not least of all because the Spaniards will likely only accept loan offers.

On top of this, it appears that he wants regular first-team football, so slotting in behind Rasmus Hojlund does not seem to be on the agenda for him at this juncture.

Indeed, SciSports suggests he would get more regular playing time at Crystal Palace, West Ham or even Arsenal.

Real Madrid do seem poised to take action to address the situation of their frustrated teenager, but while Man Utd may have been an attractive long-term move, in the next six months, he needs to be playing more – and that likely means setting his sights a little lower in terms of the stature of club he goes to.

Nevertheless, Southampton would still be a very surprising option, with Saints given a Club Fit score of just 33 for Endrick.