Reports in Italy are saying that Flamengo have raced ahead of Grêmio and São Paulo in the bid to sign Napoli striker Eduardo Vargas.
Vargas, 23, has been heavily linked with a move to Brazil in the past few weeks and at different stages has seemed set to join one of Grêmio or São Paulo.
However, La Gazzetta dello Sport are reporting that Flamengo are now the favourites to sign the Chilean forward after offering the best deal.
They are said to be offering the Naples club €1.5 million to take the player on-loan in January and then an additional €9 million to sign the former Universidad de Chile player on a permanent deal at the end of the season.
This is seen as a more desirable offer to Napoli than the one put forward by Grêmio, who were only prepared to pay €1 million for the year-long loan deal and with no guarantee to purchase the player in the future.
Vargas moved to Napoli in January after impressing with Universidad de Chile in their successful 2011 Copa Sul-Americana campaign. However, the striker has failed to adjust to life in Italy and is looking to resurrect his career elsewhere.
