Too late, European clubs swoop for Fred

If you looked the other way, it’s too late. Marseille made an offer for 4m pounds which was flatly rejected. Sevilla, after losing Julio Baptista to Real Madrid, are in the mood for a striker and offered 7m pounds. That has also been turned down.

I guess Cruzeiro know what they have. Fred has been lighting the league up this season and currently leads ‘O Brasileiro’ in goalscoring. I wrote a profile of Fred recently, he’s impressive.

Work laws make it impossible for Premiership clubs needing strikers like Everton or Newcastle to bid for Fred.

Nantes in France were the earliest bidders for the Brazilian forward’s signature but those hopes seem faint now that clubs like AC Milan and Sevilla are bidding.

AC Milan are now in serious negotiations for the player and I suspect they will get the signing. Fred’s agent is AC Milan midfielder Kaka’s father and the team has been open to the right offer. AC Milan are said to have approached with 8m pounds.

A potential complication is a split between Cruzeiro and minority rights owner Feyenoord. All parties have to ok the sale before the deal can be made. It's a shame Everton or Newcastle United could never get him a work permit and he's too good already to be farmed off to clubs in Belgium or Portugal.