How losing out on Geovany Quenda to Chelsea has gone down at Manchester United has emerged, while a top source has also revealed the final transfer fee and one other giant club the Blues pushed aside.
Chelsea pulled off a major transfer coup over the past few days when wrapping up a deal to sign Geovany Quenda in almost total secrecy. The 17-year-old is one of the brightest talents Portugal have produced in recent times and had looked a shoo-in to reunite with Ruben Amorim at Man Utd.
Amorim managed Quenda at Sporting CP and the Red Devils sought to strike a deal both in January and then for the summer.
However, Chelsea mobilised in secret and blew Man Utd away when forging agreements with both Sporting and Quenda. The lively attacker has already passed a medical.
Missing out on a top target is a bitter pill to swallow for Man Utd and doubly so given Quenda is now heading to a direct rival in the Premier League.
Providing his insight into how the transfer miss has gone down at United, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano revealed what he’s been hearing via his YouTube channel.
“Man Utd wanted Quenda,” said Romano. “Man Utd tried to get Quenda in the January transfer window, but the budget for FFP restrictions was something around €35m.
“Man Utd tried to approach Sporting but Sporting said that transfer fee was absolutely not enough to sign the player. Also Man Utd wanted Quenda immediately – January or in the summer and not [to wait until] 2026.
“This was a crucial point. Sporting said no so Man Utd decided to invest their budget in Patrick Dorgu and then wanted to try again for Quenda in the summer, special relationship with Ruben Amorim, really appreciated internally at the club, so Man Utd wanted Quenda.
“But Man Utd were also surprised when there was the ‘here we go’, Geovany Quenda to Chelsea.”
Romano went on to reveal another high-powered side Chelsea beat to the Portuguese winger’s signature.
“They also anticipated other clubs,” continued Romano. “Why Chelsea wanted to be so fast on Quenda, they knew that especially Bayern Munich were keen on Quenda. So Man Utd for sure, but also Bayern.”
The trusted reporter concluded by labelling the transfer miss as a “blow” for Man Utd who had held extensive talks with the player’s representatives.
United will now begin exploring other options for the right wing-back berth ahead of next season.
Final details in Geovany Quenda transfer confirmed
Beyond Chelsea being willing to stump up a higher fee and agreeing to delay the star’s arrival, a tertiary reason Quenda has chosen Chelsea is their promise to deploy him as a winger.
Quenda featured at right wing-back during Amorim’s final months in Lisbon and United planned to place the youngster at right wing-back if moving to Old Trafford.
Quenda’s preference, per Romano, is to play as a more advanced winger with fewer defensive responsibilities. Chelsea were singing from the same hymn sheet and will deploy the teenager on the flanks upon arriving.
Chelsea have agreed to let Quenda spend the 2025/26 campaign with Sporting, meaning he’ll arrive in the summer of 2026.
A seven-year contract running until 2033 has been agreed, with an option for an extra season included.
Providing the final details on Chelsea’s agreement with Sporting, Romano noted the final fee is €51m/£43m. No add-ons are included in that amount.
Furthermore, there will be no sell-on clause present in the deal. That means Chelsea will receive 100 percent of the proceeds if they go on to sell Quenda in the future and Sporting won’t be due a portion of the monies.
Chelsea seal second Sporting signing
In other news, CNN Portugal claim the Blues have also wrapped up an agreement to sign Quenda’s Sporting teammate, Dario Essugo.
The 20-year-old central midfielder has agreed a seven-year deal and a club-to-club agreement worth roughly €22m/£18.5m has been ironed out.
The full details in Chelsea’s second Sporting raid can be found here.
IN FOCUS: Who is Geovany Quenda?
ByNathan Egerton
Born in Guinea-Bissau in April 2007, Quenda moved to Portugal as a child and joined Amadora-based club Damaiense at the age of eight.
He also spent two years in Benfica’s academy before joining their arch-rivals Sporting CP in 2021.
In February 2024, he started a Liga 3 game against Amora and became the youngest-ever player to play for Sporting’s reserve team at the age of 16.
The left-footer showcased his pace and his dribbling ability and caught the attention of first-team manager Ruben Amorim.
“He can play in several positions, he has a lot of quality and irreverence. He is another option,” Amorim said after naming him on the bench for a Europa League tie against Atalanta in March 2024.
Quenda has also shone on the international stage as his performances for Portugal at the 2024 UEFA European Under-17 Championship earned him a place in the Team of the Tournament.
He marked his senior debut for Sporting with a goal against Porto in August 2024 and became the youngest goalscorer in the club’s history at the age of 17 years and 95 days, overtaking the likes of Ronaldo and Simao.
The teenager then became the youngest Portuguese player to start a Champions League match during Sporting’s 2-0 win over Lille in September 2024.
He has also been called up to the senior Portugal squad and was an unused substitute in their 2-1 win over Scotland in the UEFA Nations League.
“The national team coaches always say that age is not a factor. (Quenda) showed incredible personality, quality and adaptability,” Roberto Martinez said.
“He’s a player who likes to make things difficult (for defenders). He has technical quality (that is) not normal for a 17-year-old. He’s now in Sporting’s first team and has shown incredible personality.”
Quenda has since made two appearances for Portugal’s Under-21s and registered an assist in a 2-1 win over Andorra.