Again, Chelsea are to it, on the business they are to it, with the flair of a maestro. This time, Sporting CP’s Geovany Quenda and Dário Essugo have been bagged by them for a combined €74.4M (£62M). Don’t worry, Chelsea probably isn’t the one who’s wasting that money.
A cool £43.5M (€52.1M) of which the bulk goes to Quenda with performance bonuses of £1.2M being added into the coffers. The twist? He won’t be making the trip to Stamford Bridge till the end of the 2025–26 campaign. Chelsea pre-ordered the talent in this manner.
Essugo, meanwhile, is leaving Essugo this summer for Birmingham for £18.5M (€22.3M). The two deals come with a shared solidarity payment structure whereby Chelsea will pay part of the development fees to former clubs before integrating them. And even Benfica, Quenda’s childhood club, bites into the pie.
Quenda: The Future Star Chelsea Can’t Wait For
Already, 18-year-old attacking sensation Quenda is making a name for himself in Portugal. A young Cristiano Ronaldo without the wild sit-up craze is what his electric pace, technical flair and eye for goal have drawn comparisons to. With the second season of Sporting CP, Chelsea is ensuring he is ready for the pressure cooker that is the Premier League before introducing him.
Essugo: Ready to Make His Mark
Dário Essugo isn’t too slouch either at just 19. A powerful midfielder with a well-developed knack for breaking up plays and driving forward, he is already Sporting’s youngest ever debutant. Why wait until your twenties to start winding the midfield?
Why Chelsea’s Strategy is Both Bold and Brilliant
It’s a matter of genius or madness by Chelsea’s spending levels. Bets are big on Quenda’s future value soaring and ensuring their midfield pipeline is full of Essugo by securing him early. What turned into a page from the “buy now, win later” playbook that brought them Enzo Fernández, but also a few What were they thinking? moments (Romelu included).
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