Chelsea have acted early as they prepare for what will be another busy summer transfer window in West London.
It has already become a theme of Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali’s time at Stamford Bridge that they are keen to bring in the top young players in world football, and continue to carry that out ahead of this summer.
The Blues have completed the signings of Geovany Quenda and Dario Essugo from Sporting Lisbon, with the latter expected to cover for Moises Caicedo as soon as next season.
Quenda will not join until the end of next season, however the big fee they paid for his services shows just how excited they are to bring him in.
A list of the top youngsters in world football that included the likes of Estevao Willian and Lamine Yamal saw Quenda rank highly, and he is already part of the Portugal senior national team setup.
Photo by Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images via Getty Images
Photo by Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images via Getty Images
The teenager has played as both a wing-back and winger in the early stages of his career, and Chelsea fans will no doubt be excited at the prospect of him lining up with their young talents.
Portuguese journalist and pundit Mariana Fernandes told BBC Sport about the talent the Blues have on their hands, describing him as ‘once-in-a-generation’.
“He is a generational talent. Here in Portugal, there is a common theme with Sporting fans, Benfica fans, Porto fans, all the football fans, that we are not going to get a lot of Geovany Quendas every year. He is a once-in-a-generation kind of talent.
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“I think the mentality of Quenda is already there. He is already a principal main team player even though he is only 17 years old.
“He is a very creative player. He is a very young player and has a lot of potential to achieve.
“A right-winger with a left foot – so he has a left foot but also likes to go through opponents with his right foot, which becomes very confusing for defenders to try and stop him.
“He is really quick, really smart and, honestly, I don’t know how he is still only 17-years-old because he seems always so put together and mature in the way he transforms the game.”
“He is a very complete player, a very put together player. He has the mentality that he always has to go back and help the team to defend. He doesn’t stay up front.
“I think the right word to describe Quenda is he is a very brave player. He never turns his face away from the challenge, whether that is offensively in the way that he always attacks the opposition team, or whether defensively in the way he always helps his own team defend.
“His main strength is one on one challenges. He is really strong on the duels with the ball at his feet. It is very rare for a defender here in Portugal to stop Quenda in a duel or one on one challenge.”
Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images
Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images
Chelsea’s plan for Geovany Quenda
After Manchester United made an effort to sign Quenda to play at wing-back, it is believed Chelsea have a different plan for the teenager.
The Blues are keen for Quenda to be a winger at Stamford Bridge, something that was reportedly key in him agreeing to join the club in the first place.
With him having another year to develop at Sporting, Chelsea will be expecting a youngster to join in just over a year’s time to make an instant impact on the very exciting side they are building in West London.