Before we get to the genius, first let’s talk the jeans, specifically the ones that Chelsea’s newest 17-year-old wunderkind Geovany Quenda wore for his first training session with Damaiense.
They’re a little-known team in Portugal. Quenda was nine years old when he turned up in his denim and without a kit. But once he had a ball, the coaches let it slide. The quality was evident. Hell, if he can do that in Wranglers, imagine the lad when fully equipped.
Benfica soon signed him from Damaiense for their own set-up, the tale going that they rushed to acquire the teenager after watching him in a single game at a youth tournament in 2017.
It was in 2019 when Sporting Lisbon swooped for themselves by adding him to their famous academy and from 14 onwards, he was considered one of their brightest sparks.
Now 17, he is set for Chelsea, and was named in Roberto Martinez’s Portugal squad announced on Friday afternoon for their upcoming double-header with Denmark, when he could win his first cap alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Joao Felix.
Ronaldo and Felix are both represented by Jorge Mendes, and his Gestifute agency are believed to have helped smooth over the agreement between Chelsea and Sporting. However, we are told Quenda is a client of Sferico Sports Management, first and foremost, with Igor Campedelli his dedicated agent who is open in his comparisons between his client and Bukayo Saka.
The deal with Chelsea is worth £40million. He will remain with Sporting for now, and make the move to London in 2026, when a seven-year contract with the option of an additional 12 months will await. It is a transfer which has been done under the noses of Manchester United, whose head coach Ruben Amorim worked with him at Sporting and seemingly wanted to again.
Described as someone who is seldom flummoxed, Quenda is a left-footer who can operate on either wing, using his speed to win one-v-ones but also track back defensively.
Given his age, he has been breaking records for Sporting, some of which were previously held by Ronaldo. The youngest to do this, the youngest to do that. He set a new record by scoring in the derby with Porto, for example, in the Portuguese Super Cup final.
His representatives tell us he lives at the club’s Academia de Alcochete and still takes classes there, with Sporting priding themselves on producing polite and respectful human beings as well as fine footballers.
Portugal manager Martinez has said Quenda possesses a technical quality that is unusual for his age. Manchester City player Bernardo Silva has said: ‘Quenda is probably going to steal my place. At 17, I wasn’t even playing for Benfica’s youth team.’ AC Milan winger Rafael Leao, a close friend of his, has simply said: ‘Remember the name.’
Of course, Amorim has also committed a great deal of compliments to the teenager.
But now, he is Chelsea bound, perhaps the Premier League club’s future on one side of their pitch while another 2007-born super-starlet in Estevao Willian mans the other.