Chelsea are now taking strong steps to sign Estevão Willian from Palmeiras, according to claims from Brazil.
UOL columnist Bruno Andrade reports that the Blues ‘strongly’ entered the fight for the wonderkid and are now working to soon send a bid for him.
It’s said Chelsea’s are signalling their intent with an offer worth €30m initially plus €25m in potential bonuses.
Andrade claims that the Blues have been following the wonderkid for a long time, and had made two other approaches for him, and neither of those were enough to convince Palmeiras.
Estevão, who’s also known as Messinho, is just 17 years old and only has 12 appearances for Palmeiras. However, he’d shown huge potential in the club’s youth ranks, and was many times treated as a bigger talent than Endrick, who’s set to join Real Madrid this summer. That’s why there’s no guarantee they’ll even accept this new bid.
Chelsea’s move is obviously to get ahead of the big competition there is for the winger, especially because he won’t be able to leave Brazil until the summer of 2025, when he’ll be 18.
The Blues haven’t been making much use of the Brazilian youngsters they’ve been signing lately, but it’s strange to imagine them spending €55m on a signing to loan him out.