Barcelona’s Deco meets with agents of 16-year-old Palmeiras starlet

Barcelona have increased their following of emerging talents across the globe since the arrival of Deco as Director of Football, and in particular, in Brazil. The Blaugrana spent €30m on Vitor Roque just two years ago, coming in from Athletico Paranaense, at the behest of Deco, and despite the failure of that move, they are looking for the next starlet.

After selling Endrick Felipe, Estevao and Vitor Reis for big money, the latest Palmeiras starlet to catch the eye is Eduardo Conceicao. The 16-year-old forward has been the most impressive player in Sao Paulo’s Copinha under-20 tournament, which pits some of the best talents in Brazil up against each other.

Frenkie de Jong, Marc Casadó, Fermín López and Gerard Martín will have to be careful tonight. A yellow card would see them miss the next Champions League game against Copenhagen. [@jbatalla7]

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) January 21, 2026

Deco meets with Conceicao agents

According to Sport, Director of Football Deco and Head Scout Joao Amaral met with Conceicao’s agents at the club’s offices in December. During the meeting, they explained that they had an interest in Conceicao, and were following him closely, although he is expected to have interest from across Europe. Barcelona also have a scout following his progress at La Copinha closely this month.

Eduardo Conceicao’s transfer situation

Conceicao is under contract until 2029 at Palmeiras, and O Verdao are in firm control of his situation, with a €100m release clause in that contract. Last year Conceicao was competing in Palmeiras’ under-20 side, but they kept him back from the Copinha in order to avoid the interest of European giants until he had signed a contract tying his future to the club.

It will not be until January of 2028 that Conceicao can make the move to Europe, when he will be 18 years of age. Deco explained that they have no plans to move for Conceicao in 2026, but by the time Conceicao can make a switch, they expect the club to be back in a more powerful financial situation.

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