Crystal Palace marquee target Gabriel Barbosa looks unlikely to receive a work permit

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Crystal Palace are being linked with an eye-catching move for Brazilian talent Gabriel Barbosa. The 22-year-old, once dubbed the ‘next Neymar, headed to Inter Milan in 2016 for a huge fee of £29.5 million – as reported by Football Italia.

However, ‘Gabigol’ has struggled in Europe. One goal in nine substitute appearances for Inter Milan and a forgettable 13-minute loan spell at Benfica saw him return to Brazil.

He headed to his former club Santos on loan and has scored 23 goals in 45 games.

Crystal Palace are now keen. UOL report that Palace have been in touch with his agent Kia Joorabachian and a move to Crystal Palace is reportedly an option in January.

Plenty of Eagles fans have been very excited by the reports as the Olympic Gold medalist is a supreme talent.

However, here’s some cold water for the transfer talk. Judging by recent history, Gabriel Barbosa is unlikely to make the move. A work permit looks very unlikely for the player.

Last summer, before his Benfica move, he looked set to join Burnley. However, as reported by The Sun, the deadline day move for the player fell apart as he could not receive a work permit for the UK.

A month earlier, Football London reported that West Ham were backing out of a move as initial research suggested he would not receive the documentation to play in the Premier League.

The problem was, despite his two goals in four appearances for Brazil, his last appearance for Selecao was in June 2016. The 22-year-old therefore does not meet the criteria to qualify for a work permit.

Crystal Palace would, therefore, have a big task on their hands managing to put a deal together for the player to head to Selhurst Park.