Corinthians begin revamp of Under-20s, keen to keep hold of striker

In partnership with

Central do Timão

·20 Januari 2026

Corinthians begin revamp of Under-20s, keen to keep hold of striker

By Fabio Luigi / Central do Timão Editorial Team

After an early exit in the Copinha and a below-expectations 2025, Corinthians is planning to make changes in the Under-20 category, which in the coming days should see some players leaving and others arriving. It is worth remembering that the initial idea was to strengthen the category specifically for the São Paulo Cup, which was not possible due to the transfer ban the club suffered from FIFA, which also affected the youth department.

According to information from Itatiaia and confirmed by Central do Timão, four Under-20 players were released to seek new destinations: defender Yago Cândido (contract until May 2027), midfielder Teixeirão (contract until July 2026), midfielder Tiaguinho, and forward Kauã Henrique (contract until November 2027). All mentioned were born in 2007.

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Photo: Rodrigo Gazzanel/Agência Corinthians

Additionally, according to Itatiaia and also confirmed by Central do Timão, the athletes in question will train separately from the Under-20 group while they determine their new destinations. If there are interested parties, the current management's idea, as the report learned, is to negotiate a loan or possibly an early termination of the contracts.

Luiz Fábio

As reported by Itatiaia and confirmed by Central do Timão, Corinthians also expressed interest in retaining forward Luiz Fábio ‘Favela’, who scored two goals in four games during the 2026 Copinha, being the team's top scorer in the tournament. The player is on loan to the Alvinegro from Capivariano, from the interior of São Paulo, until March 2026. The purchase option for the player is R$ 300,000, according to Meu Timão, something confirmed by the Central do Timão report.

Luiz Fábio joined Corinthians in February last year, during the tenure of the ousted president Augusto Melo, who had Claudinei Alves as the statutory base director and Alex Brasil as executive. Initially, the player was integrated into the Under-18 team (an intermediate category deactivated by the Osmar Stabile management) and later became part of the Under-20. Born in 2006, the player has three goals in 15 games for the category.

However, Central do Timão found that the club has not yet planned to deposit the mentioned amount with Capivariano to acquire the player permanently.

Under-20 returns to training

After the early exit in the second phase of the Copinha against Guarani, losing 2-1, the Corinthians Under-20 returned to training at the youth center this Tuesday (20), as learned by the Central do Timão report. In the coming months, the Sons of Terrão will start competing in the Brazilian and Paulista Championships of the category. In 2025, Timãozinho fought against relegation in the national tournament and stopped in the round of 16 of the Paulistão, when they were eliminated by Santos at Vila Belmiro.

Reinforcements for the Under-20

Central do Timão found that the arrival of new reinforcements for the category will occur in alignment with the recruitment work with club professionals, something that, according to the report, has not been happening in recent years.

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