Arsenal eyeing ‘new Julián Álvarez’ in Brazil – Contract issue to sort

So Julián Álvarez didn’t come to Arsenal? That’s alright. Perhaps they can develop their own version instead.

The Gunners are keeping an eye on Santos’ 16-year-old striker Ignacio Pereira, who has already been compared stylistically to the Atlético Madrid star.

That’s obviously a very big comparison for someone who hasn’t even made his senior debut yet. Still, Pereira is scoring goals, playing for Argentina’s youth sides and attracting plenty of attention from Europe.

His current youth deal only runs until February 28th, 2027. That means Santos have a decision to make over his future, and an opportunity could rise for whoever’s interested.

Arsenal among six clubs watching Pereira

That’s according to Brazil’s RTI Esporte, who explain that Pereira has been watched from abroad while continuing to score regularly in Brazil.

He arrived at Santos in 2023 after previous spells with Grêmio and Juventude. It didn’t take him particularly long to start making a name for himself. Pereira finished as Santos’ top scorer in the 2025 Paulista U15 championship, scoring ten goals.

Moving up to U17 level hasn’t slowed him down much either. The striker has nine goals in 2026 and is averaging close to one goal every 90 minutes.

So that’s why Arsenal and others have started paying attention before he’s even made his senior debut. Pereira also has dual nationality and has already represented Argentina at youth level.

Style of play and development

We could describe him as a modern centre-forward, as he offers much more than just waiting around inside the penalty area.

His movement and physical strength are superb for his age, along with the technical ability to get involved in moves. He’s also very good at shooting from medium and long range, with both power and accuracy.

RTI Esporte’s report even draws a stylistic comparison with Atlético Madrid’s Julián Álvarez. That’s obviously one to take carefully when talking about a 16-year-old who hasn’t played senior football yet, but… the similarities are there indeed.

There’s a little more behind his connection with Argentina, too. Globo Esporte profiled Pereira back in March, when he was still part of Santos’ U16 squad. He was born in Argentina but has lived in Brazil since he was five and holds both nationalities.

By that point, he’d already received three call-ups from Argentina’s youth setup. During one of those trips, he even watched Lionel Messi training, although the youngsters weren’t allowed to approach him.

At the start of this year, he was balancing training, school and gym work while waiting for opportunities with Santos’ U17s. Pereira regularly watched Santos’ senior squad training on the next pitch and dreamed of eventually joining Neymar there.

Santos have contract situation to sort out

As we said before, his deal is a youth development contract, not a professional one. It establishes his relationship with Santos during his development, but a first professional agreement would have a different legal and financial structure.

That leaves Santos with something to work on. Pereira’s current contract expires at the end of February, and the interest from Arsenal (and other clubs) adds another consideration.

Getting his professional future sorted sooner rather than later would seem a fairly obvious item for their to-do list.