Sao Paulo (Brazil), Apr 3 (IANS): Uruguayan striker Gonzalo Carneiro has signed a three-season contract, till March 31, 2021, with Brazilian Sao Paulo FC, the club said.

Carneiro, one of the most promising players in Uruguay, has already completed the medical exams in Sao Paulo and was shown the facilities of his new team, reports Efe.

He will then follow a specific physical plan before playing under the team's coach, Uruguayan Diego Aguirre.

Carneiro, 22, a native of Montevideo and known in the neighbouring country as 'La Joya' or 'the gem', is the nephew of Marcelo Zalayeta, a former player of Italian football club Juventus.

Carneiro began his professional career at Montevideo-based Defensor Sporting, where he quickly acquired a prominent role in the team thanks to his goals.

He finished the 2017 season well by scoring 13 goals, which allowed his team to win the Uruguayan Apertura tournament, and became the top scorer of the "intermediate" phase of the championship.

"I am happy with the arrival of Carneiro, not only because of the relationship of the Uruguayans with Sao Paulo, but also because he is a young, talented player," said former football player and the team's current executive, Rai.

"His contract is part of our plan to assemble a cast with experienced players and young people with the potential to make history in the club," he added.

Before closing his contract with Sao Paulo, Carneiro was close to signing with Brazil's Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense in January, according to its vice president, Marcos Herrmann, but the agreement reached between the parties was not finalised.