An intense European transfer battle for Flamengo’s latest wonderkid has finally drawn to a close, leaving Chelsea and several other Premier League giants empty-handed.
Since the BlueCo takeover, Chelsea have built an aggressive scouting network in Brazil, shifting their long-term recruitment strategy to South America’s biggest prodigies.
Rather than battling rivals for finished products at premium prices, the Blues have heavily invested in raw, high-ceiling talent under the age of 18, and it has paid off in some respects.
The biggest success story of this is Estevao Willian, who signed from Palmeiras in a deal worth up to £51 million, and he’s gone on to become a guaranteed starter, despite his age. Estevao leads a contingent of prospects, which includes Andrey Santos, as well as the likes of Dastan Satpayev and Geovany Quenda.
Who do you want to see Chelsea sign for each of these positions? 👀
These are the FOUR areas the club have identified for this summer…
- Goalkeeper
- Central defender
- Central midfielder
- Left winger
Ryan Roberto decides to join Shakhtar Donetsk
Chelsea’s summer transfer plans have taken a bit of a blow, as TeamTalk are reporting that Flamengo wonderkid Ryan Roberto has opted to join Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Ukrainian club have reached an agreement with Flamengo worth around £10million for the 18-year-old attacker.
It’s claimed that Chelsea and Newcastle held discussions over Roberto in recent months, which originated from their South American scouting network.
However, one factor that may have played into this is the fact that the Blues already have an attacker in the form of Dastan Satpayev arriving this summer.
What did you think of Nicolas Jackson’s performance against France?🤔
He hit the post and scored an offside goal!
Chelsea’s priorities lie with Xabi Alonso and his current squad
Chelsea need to speed up their pivot away from betting on raw youth and instead focus entirely on signing proven, established players to give new manager Xabi Alonso the exact tools he needs.
With pre-season training looming next month, there is no time to waste on developmental projects that require years to mature. When implementing a new system you want to have as much time as possible working with your new squad ahead of the new season, not waiting to bed in new players.
Prioritising proven quality in critical areas like central midfield, goalkeeper, and at the heart of the defence ensures that the squad hits the ground running when pre-season begins.
After the season that Chelsea had last time out, there really is no time to waste.
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