Barcelona Monitor Brazil Under-20 Stars Neymar And Lucas

Barcelona sent their chief scout to the South American U-20 Championships, where he has been wowed by Brazil's Neymar and Lucas.
The stellar performances of Brazil duo Neymar and Lucas in the South American Under-20 Championships have attracted attention from across the Atlantic, with Barcelona reportedly keeping close tabs on the pair's exploits in Peru.

Mundo Deportivo report that the Spanish giants have sent head of the scouting department Albert Valentin to observe the Brazilian side, who remain unbeaten in the tournament and head the final stage after one game. While Argentine stars Sergio Araujo, Rogelio Funes Mori and Juan Iturbe have impressed the official, it is apparently Santos prodigy Neymar and Sao Paulo's Lucas, both 18, who have caught Valentin's eye over the rest.

Neymar was identified in the report as the 'tournament star', and is the runaway top scorer so far with seven goals in five games. The newspaper however did make reference to the forward's "divisive character" and described him as "proud and arrogant". Lucas meanwhile was dubbed a "midfielder with great technical ability", although it was also made clear that despite the close attention there was no immediate suggestion of an approach from the Liga champions.