It hasn't taken Santos long to replace the Barcelona departed Neymar. Remarkably similar in appearance, Santos' latest talent Neilton has made a blistering start to his professional career. Not only does Neilton look like he could be the younger brother of Neymar, he also Sports the Same Mohawk as the new Barcelona star. Stepping into the same number 11 shirt that Neymar held during his time in Brazil must have brought with it considerable expectations. Having been with the Academy since the age of 14 Neilton has been brought into the first team fold to fill the position Vacated by Neymar. At 19 years old he already looks to have a great future in the game if his first handful of appearances are anything to go by. In his first 8 appearances in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A, Neilton has contributed 4 goals and an assist. Some of his play really resembles his former teammate Neymar. He is quick, direct, skillful and very tricky. All key components of Neymar's game too. With such resemblance to a current up and coming icon in the world game, a lot of eyes will undoubtedly be getting cast over the 19 year old prodigy. It is widely reported that Neilton has a buyout clause of £5 million. There are also rumours in the British press that Spurs may be set to table a £7 million bid to prise the young Brazilian away from Santos. Videos of his first goals for Santos are already racking up plenty of views on YouTube with many making the obvious comparisons to Neymar. Neilton though has ambitions of his own and to be the "second Neymar" is not his agenda. Instead this is what the new Santos star had to say "Neymar was a big idol for me, he won everything here and now im looking for my own place at the club. I want to be Neilton, not the second Neymar". It is good to hear that he wants to be his own person and although I'm sure he will be flattered to be compared with Neymar, it's refreshing to see he has the desire to make a name for himself and not just settle for the comparisons. One thing is for sure he has undoubted talent, although he isn't close to being the finished article yet. I imagine he is somebody we will be hearing a lot more about over the coming season, especially if the rumours regarding Spurs interest turn out to be true. What do you all think? Have you seen the Videos of Neilton? Could he cut it in the premier league?
A 24 year old graduate originally from Teesside but now living in North Devon. I am a dedicated fan of the long suffering Newcastle United. My other interests include Music, Film, T.V, gaming and travelling. The majority of my focus will be on Football though. Feel free to leave a comment if you want to ask me anything.
