[Chelsea](https://www.football.london/chelsea-fc/) are set to sign Dario Essugo from Sporting CP this summer - less than 24 hours after agreeing a £41million deal for his teammate Geovany Quenda.
Essugo, 20, has impressed while on loan at Las Palmas this season. He has made 17 appearances for the La Liga side and his form has attracted interest from across Europe.
And the Blues have beaten competition to secure his signature. According to Fabrizio Romano, Enzo Maresca's side have reached an agreement with Sporting and a medical has been completed. Chelsea are expected to pay £18.5m for Essugo, who will sign a bumper seven-year contract.
Unlike Quenda, who is set to join Chelsea from Sporting in 2026, Essugo will be going straight into Maresca's first-team THIS summer when his loan deal at Las Palmas expires.
A defensive midfielder that can also play further forward, Essugo is set to compete with Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia and Enzo Fernandez for a place in the Chelsea starting XI next season.
Should Maresca get every option available, Essugo could be one of TEN senior midfield players in the squad. Andrey Santos, Lesley Ugochukwu, Mathis Amougou, Omari Kellyman, Carney Chukwuemeka, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Lavia, Caicedo, Fernandez and Kendry Paez are the others.
It's a position that Chelsea are well-stocked in, but Essugo is no doubt going to strengthen that area - and he is a real talent for the short-term and long-term future.
Born in 2005, Essugo came through the ranks at Sporting and became the club's youngest-ever player when he was introduced as a second-half substitute against Vitoria de Guimaraes in March 2021, aged 16 years and 16 days.
The talented midfielder continued to shatter records, becoming Portugal's youngest player to debut in the Champions League against Ajax in December 2021. He broke another club record later that season when he surpassed Luis Figo as their youngest starter against Arouca at 16 years, 11 months and 17 days.
Despite this, Essugo failed to cement a regular place in the Sporting side, and after spending the second half of last season at Chaves, before he moved to Las Palmas on loan in August.