CHELSEA are working on signing ANOTHER Brazilian wonderkid.
Estevao Willian is just 16 years old and plays for Brazilian Serie A side Palmeiras.
Willian is so highly rated in Brazil that he has earned the nickname of ‘Messinho’ after Lionel Messi.
He made his Palmeiras debut when he came off the bench against Cruzeiro in December as Palmeiras won the Serie A title on the final day of the season.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea are in negotiations with Palmeiras over signing the player.
And he has a whopping release clause of £52million.
Barcelona are also in contact with Palmeiras and could rival Chelsea to his signature.
Chelsea have pursued an aggressive strategy of paying big-money for young players since Todd Boehly’s takeover of the club last year.
The Blues broke their transfer record to sign Enzo Fernandez, 22, for £107m from Benfica then broke it again to snap up Moises Caicedo, 22, for a £115m fee from Brighton.
But neither player can be described as an unqualified success since moving to Stamford Bridge.
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Boehly has spent over £1billion in transfer fees since becoming the club’s owner.
He’s signed several young Brazilians during his tenure such as Andrey Santos, Angelo Gabriel and Deivid Washington.
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Only Deivid Washington has made an appearance for Chelsea, playing 14 minutes in the third round of the FA Cup against Preston.
And fans are worried that Boehly could be making the same mistake of signing a player for the future but neglecting the here and now.
One fan wrote: “£52m on him whilst we have Jackson occupying ST and Chilwell at LB.”
Another fan wrote: “We’re never signing another player over 25 it seems.”
A third fan wrote: “Chelsea signs everyone, yet their team remains mid..”
And a fourth tweeted: “Boehly hasn’t learned his lesson.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
