Lorenzo's move to Italy collapses, picks new club after Corinthians | OneFootball

After ending his time in Corinthians’ youth academy, center-back Lorenzo, 19, has agreed to join América-MG. The defender even traveled to Italy and was close to joining Crotone, but the deal was not completed. Now, he will continue his career in Brazilian football.

The information about the agreement with the Minas Gerais club was first reported by Itatiaia and confirmed by Central do Timão. Lorenzo will sign a two-year contract with América-MG and arrives on a free transfer, since his contract with Timão ended on August 21.

Photo: Reproduction / Instagram

Corinthians also will not retain a share of the player’s economic rights to profit from a possible future transfer. According to Itatiaia, the club’s board did not formally present an offer to extend the defender’s contract before it expired.

Negotiations with Italian club did not move forward

Before deciding his future with América-MG, Lorenzo came very close to beginning an experience in European football. The center-back had a pre-agreement with Crotone, a team that plays in the Italian third division, and even traveled to the country.

The youngster took part in training sessions with the club, but the transfer ultimately did not go through. The reports published about the reason present different versions. Meu Timão reported that Crotone alleged contractual issues, while Itatiaia pointed to difficulties in the exchange of documents involved in the deal.

Lorenzo’s links to Italian football were nothing new in his career. In 2024, while still playing for Corinthians’ Under-17 team, the player spent around two weeks on trial at Milan. The possibility of a transfer did not progress, and he returned to Parque São Jorge.

More recently, the defender also attracted interest from other clubs abroad. According to Itatiaia, Sevilla, from Spain, made an inquiry about the player.

Lorenzo spent seven years in Corinthians’ youth academy

Born in 2007 and holding German citizenship, Lorenzo joined Corinthians at 12 years old and went through different stages of the youth ranks. In August 2023, he signed his first professional contract, which set a release clause of more than R$100 million for foreign clubs.

The center-back took part in training sessions with the first team after standing out in the youth academy, but left Parque São Jorge without making an official appearance for the senior side.

In 2026, Lorenzo began the season as one of William Batista’s options for the Under-20 team and formed a center-back pairing with Iago Machado. Over the course of the year, however, he lost ground to Yago Melo and Levy Dias amid uncertainty surrounding his contractual future.

In total, the defender ended his time with Corinthians’ Under-20 team with 43 appearances, 34 as a starter, and four goals scored.

With the move to América-MG, Lorenzo begins a new stage of his career after seven years at Corinthians and after seeing his chance to move directly to Italian football fall through.

Corinthians make changes to the Under-20 squad

The center-back’s departure comes amid other recent moves in the Under-20 squad. Corinthians have agreed to loan out midfielders Luiz Eduardo and Lucas Molina, both 19, to Santos and Avaí, respectively.

Forward João Guilherme Drude, also 19, has ended his spell at Parque São Jorge. In this case, unlike Lorenzo’s situation, Timão retained a percentage of the player’s economic rights.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.