Brazilian winger Richarlison agrees Watford move after Chelsea and Manchester United links

Watford are set to beat Premier League rivals Chelsea and Manchester United to the summer signing of young Fluminense winger Richarlison.

Sky Sports claim that the Hornets have settled on a £13m ($17.1m) deal for the highly-rated former Brazil Under-20 international, who has agreed a five-year contract to move to Vicarage Road. The transfer remains subject to the granting of a work permit and was confirmed by Tricolor president Pedro Abad.

"Richarlison is not going to travel [to Wednesday's Brasileirao match against Sport Recife], his exit is confirmed, he will play at Watford in England and will not play for Fluminense anymore," he said at a press conference held on Monday (31 July).

Former Real Noroeste prospect Richarlison made a total of 40 senior appearances for Fluminense after moving to the world-famous Maracana Stadium from America Mineiro last year, scoring 10 goals and registering five assists.

He will become the fourth player signed since Marco Silva succeeded Walter Mazzarri as Watford head coach on a two-year deal in May, with Will Hughes, Nathaniel Chalobah, Kiko Femenia and Daniel Bachmann also arriving in Hertfordshire. A permanent £8m switch for former Everton loanee Tom Cleverley had already been agreed back in March.

Watford were far from the only club chasing Richarlison, with Europa League finalists Ajax also heavily linked along with the likes of Palmeiras, both AC and Inter Milan clubs as well as Sampdoria. The player's agent, Renato Velasco, had previously admitted that his client was open to a move to Europe.

"Yes, there is interest from a few clubs in Italy," he said. "Inter and Sampdoria, yes, but not the Rossoneri, at least not right now. The truth is that he is ready to play for any club, big or small and there is a lot of speculation around him. He is talking about Italy, but also England and Holland."

The Mail reported earlier this month that Chelsea had made a late swoop for a player who was said to have even gone as far as agreeing a provisional five-year contract with Ajax, while United were believed to have scouted him extensively over recent months.

If the aforementioned fee for Richarlison is indeed accurate - though rival reports have suggested it could be more towards the £11m mark - then the 20-year-old would be installed as Watford's new record signing. He will move ahead of Nigerian forward Isaac Success, who joined the club from formerly Pozzo-owned Granada in July 2016 for a fee believed to be in the region of £12.5m.

Watford, who recently sanctioned the permanent sale of winger Steven Berghuis to Dutch champions Feyenoord, have yet to provide public confirmation of their agreement for Richarlison. However, the player has posted a lengthy farewell message to Fluminense on Instagram and was recently pictured in London with compatriot and Chelsea winger Willian.