Manchester United were linked with signing Sporting Lisbon's Geovany Quenda, but the highly-rated Portugal star has now agreed to join Chelsea at the end of next season
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Sport
07:45, 20 Mar 2025
Geovany Quenda
Sporting Lisbon star Geovany Quenda has agreed to sign for Chelsea
Geovany Quenda's desire to play as a winger, rather than a wing-back, was one of the factors in his decision to join Chelsea.
Sporting Lisbon have now confirmed that Quenda, 17, has agreed a shock switch to Stamford Bridge, though he will remain in Portugal with Sporting for the 2025-26 campaign before making the jump to the Premier League.
Quenda will be joined at Chelsea by 20-year-old defensive midfielder, Dario Essugo, who will link up with Enzo Maresca's side in the summer. The deal for both players is believed to be worth around £62million.
After breaking into Sporting's first-team as a teenager under Ruben Amorim, it was no secret that the Portuguese coach was interested in working with Quenda again at Manchester United.
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However, Quenda favoured a move to Chelsea over United as he wants to play on the wing, rather than as a wing-back.
Amorim's preferred 3-4-2-1 formation deploys wing-backs rather than wide forwards and its merits have already been debated since his appointment back in November. Quenda will instead compete with a host of established wide men for a spot in Chelsea's team after completing one final season as a Sporting player.
Unfortunately for Manchester United and Amorim, Chelsea's capture of Quenda could leave them with another headache as the Blues weigh up whether to renege on their agreement to sign Jadon Sancho permanently.
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Ruben Amorim will take some time off
Ruben Amorim worked with Quenda at Sporting Lisbon and was interested in signing him
The former Borussia Dortmund star was frozen out at United before joining Chelsea on loan in the summer in a deal which included a £25million purchase obligation.
It has since emerged that Chelsea do have the option to pay a penalty fee instead of signing Sancho on a permanent basis - and they are now said to be considering whether or not to take that financial hit given Quenda's arrival in 2026 will leave them with an embarrassment of options to play on both flanks.
Sancho, 24, made a bright start to life at Chelsea but has only registered two goals and one assist since the end of September. He has made 23 appearances in the Premier League for the Blues, starting 16 games in total.
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