Gabriel Moscardo's Paris Saint-Germain move 'on hold as medical identifies foot injury'

The 18-year-old is understood to have agreed personal terms on a five-year contract to join the French champions, who have triggered his €20m (£17.3m) release clause and will also pay around €2m (£1.7m) in performance-related add-ons.

Newly-appointed Corinthians president Augusto Melo recently confirmed that the Brazilian outfit will sell Moscardo to PSG, despite admitting that he is against the transfer.

"I can confirm we have sold Gabriel Moscardo to Paris Saint-Germain, the deal is done," Melo told reporters, via journalist Fabrizio Romano, on Tuesday.

Speaking to Globo Esporte, Melo added: "We opposed his sale from the beginning. I wasn't in favour of the sale... (But) He was sold for an unbelievable price.

"I had to be involved in this negotiation, even though it wasn't what we wanted. To give you an idea, if we didn't agree, they would pay the cheaper buyout clause."

According to The Athletic, Moscardo flew over from Brazil to Paris for his medical last Friday, but tests have since revealed that the youngster has a small fracture in his left foot.

Moscardo required surgery to mend the issue and PSG plan to send the midfielder to Qatari capital Doha for treatment, with Corinthians aware of the situation.

Should Moscardo overcome this obstacle, the teenager is expected to officially complete his transfer to Luis Enrique's side in July.

For the time being, Moscardo remains under contract with Corinthians and he is set to return to his native Brazil until the matter is resolved.

Moscardo only made his senior debut for Corinthians in June last year and has since made a total of 25 first-team appearances as a defensive midfielder, including 14 starts in the Brazilian top flight in the 2023 campaign.

The highly-rated teenager was called up to the Brazil Under-23s squad in September last year and has caught the eye of several top European clubs in recent months.

Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Barcelona have all been credited with an interest in Moscardo, but PSG are in pole position to win the race for his signature.

Moscardo is set to follow in the footsteps of compatriot Lucas Beraldo, who completed his transfer to PSG from Sao Paulo on New Year's Day for a reported €20m (£17.4m).