Chelsea have reached a verbal agreement to sign 17 year old winger Easêvão Willian from Brazilian side Palmeiras.
The teenager, who is reported to be keen on the move, will cost the West London side ₤27.5 million plus add-ons, although FIFA regulations mean that he will not be able to join his new employers before he turns 18 in August.
Although they are yet to hold official talks with Palmeiras, Chelsea have acted quickly to head off competition for the player with Arsenal and Barcelona both also interested in him.
He began his career with Cruzeiros before joining the Palmeiras academy, where he has since graduated through to the first team.
Described as a ‘mini Messi” when he was ten years old, Willian became the youngest player ever to sign a deal with Nike, surpassing the record of Rodrygo (now with Real Madrid).
He typically operates on the right flank, and has been capped by Brazil five times at under-17 level.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.
