Chelsea have annoyed Brazilian wonderkid’s agent so much that Arsenal now have ‘advantage’ in transfer pursuit

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Chelsea look to have blown their chances of signing one Brazilian youngster this year.

The Brazilian market is one that Chelsea have really tapped into since being taken over by Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali‘s Clearlake Capital, with Andrey Santos being the club’s biggest success story so far.

Chelsea signed Santos from Vasco da Gama in 2023, and the midfielder has enjoyed two successful loan spells at Strasbourg. Chelsea’s plan for Santos now is for the 20-year-old to return to west London in the summer.

Unsurprisingly, the Blues want to send more young players to their sister club to aid their development, but one reported target has no interest in making such a move.

• READ MORE: Four mistakes Chelsea chiefs made in January transfer window including Joao Felix loan deal

Joao Victor de Souza’s agent not impressed with Chelsea’s Strasbourg plan

Santos defender Joao Victor de Souza is the latest Brazilian talent to be linked to Chelsea.

According to CaughtOffside, Chelsea have been scouting Souza for some time and want to sign the left-back before sending him to Strasbourg on loan.

However, the same outlet claims that their plan to do that has left both Souza and his agent far from impressed.

Left-back is a position that Chelsea may have to strengthen in the future. Renato Veiga does not seem keen to play there any more, joining Juventus on loan to get game time in central defence, while Ben Chilwell has signed for Crystal Palace and has been out of the first-team picture for a while now.

Joao Victor de Souza could now join Arsenal instead

In another blow to Chelsea, it looks like Souza could still be heading to the Premier League but to join one of their rivals instead.

CaughtOffside’s report states that Arsenal could look to take “advantage” of Chelsea’s failure to convince Souza to join them.

Marc Cucurella has firmly established himself as the first-choice left-back in Enzo Maresca‘s team. Considering that, the Blues do not need to sign an elite player for the position; a young talent like Souza could be enough to provide cover. But that option no longer appears to be on the table.