Last Thursday, when Palmeiras wonderkid Endrick turned 16-years-of-age and signed his first professional contract with the club, it was known it wouldn’t take long for European sides to start making approaches for his signing.
Perhaps people didn’t expect those contacts would happen as quickly as they reportedly have. According to journalist Jorge Nicola, Chelsea had talks for the transfer the day after.
It’s said that on Friday, the Blues held a meeting with Endrick’s agent Frederico Pena and with his parents. The encounter happened in São Paulo, and when expressing their wish of signing him, the London side ‘signalled’ their intention to pay €30m plus €10m in performance bonuses.
Nicola points out that in the first year of his contract, the forward has a €40m release clause, and Palmeiras president Leila Pereira is keen for an offer which is close to that amount.
Chelsea don’t seem to be far from it.
The Blues, however, could only have Endrick in the summer of 2024, when he turns 18. The big reason to spend that much money to sign him now would be to beat the competition, as according to the story, the likes of Barcelona, Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris Saint Germain and Real Madrid have all shown their desire to sign the youngster, who’s clearly one of the most exciting prospects in Brazil.
By holding a meeting a day after the youngster turned 16, Chelsea avoided any penalties from FIFA for harassing a player who didn’t have a professional contract yet.
