Who is 'Brazilian Haaland'? 17-year-old being tracked by Man City & top European clubs

The teenager has drawn comparisons with Haaland for his scoring instincts.

In Brazil, Wendeson Wanderley Santos de Melo, also known as Dell, is receiving high praise for his club and national team efforts.

In January, the 17-year-old striker made his senior debut for Bahia, a top-tier Brazilian team. However, he had already established himself in the club’s academy years before.

In 2023, Dell scored an incredible 40 goals in 34 games for the Under-17 team, and the following year, he scored 12 goals in 21 games as Bahia won their first regional Baianao Championships.

According to reports, Manchester City are interested in signing the “Brazilian Haaland.” However, the 17-year-old has a release clause of £87 million.

Why is Dell called Brazilian Haaland?

This is because of his incredible goal-scoring abilities; he was dubbed the “Haaland of Sertao,” a reference to the area of North-West Brazil from whence he hails. He was also called up to play for the youth teams in Brazil.

He won the Golden Boot in the U15 South America Championship in 2024 after scoring four goals and dishing out two assists.

He has already been called up to play in the U17 World Cup in Qatar in November after leading Brazil to victory in the U17 division of the competition in March.

A big release clause on Brazilian Haaland

Bahia are fully aware of the potential worth of their fantastic asset, considering his extraordinary talent and unrelenting goal-scoring abilities.

So much so that they have a huge £87 million release clause in a professional contract that binds him until 2027. Dell aspires to play in Europe and is contracted to Brazilian super-agent Giuliano Bertolucci.

Especially Manchester City, whose owners, the City Football Group, also control 90% of Bahia, thus a deal between the two teams might be extremely easy.

ESPN reports that AC Milan are also interested in the teenager, but City would be the favourite because of their ties to Bahia.

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