Chelsea have wrapped up their second signing within the last 36 hours, with Fabrizio Romano providing the finer details on the Blues’ latest coup.
Chelsea pulled off a masterstroke earlier this week when sealing a deal to sign Sporting CP hotshot, Geovany Quenda. The 17-year-old is regarded as one of the finest talents to come out of Portugal in recent times and had been expected to reunite with Ruben Amorim at Manchester United.
However, despite United attempting to sign Quenda both in January are for the upcoming summer, it’s Chelsea who secured agreements with Sporting and the player, much to Man Utd’s chagrin.
Quenda has agreed a seven-year deal with an option for an eighth season. A key reason why Chelsea were able to usurp United was their willingness to allow Quenda to remain at Sporting for the 2025/26 season.
As such, Quenda is scheduled to arrive at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2026, though the Blues have just sealed a deal for Quenda’s teammate who’ll arrive much sooner.
CNN Portugal led the way earlier on Saturday when bringing news of Chelsea agreeing a a deal to sign central midfielder, Dario Essugo. The Portugal Under-21 international is currently on loan from Sporting at LaLigs side Las Palmas.
But per the latest from Fabrizio Romano, Essugo can now be considered a Chelsea player.
Taking to X, Romano stated: “Dario Essugo to Chelsea, here we go!
“Agreement done with Sporting and medical completed.
“€22m transfer fee for 20-year-old midfielder to join Chelsea THIS summer and be part of the first team. Essugo will sign a seven-year deal.”
Chelsea’s central midfield options are already stacked with Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia and Enzo Fernandez in situ.
Essugo – known for excelling at the defensive side of the game just like Caicedo – will be brought in to “provide cover” for the Ecuadorian destroyer, according to a follow-up from Romano.
Romano previously claimed Quenda’s agreement was worth €51m, though in his latest update regarding Essugo, clarified the Quenda fee is actually €48m.
As such, Chelsea have already committed to a combined €70m/£59m in a double coup that could reap huge rewards in the not-too-distant future.
How Chelsea beat Man Utd to Geovany Quenda
As mentioned, a key reason the Blues beat United to Quenda’s signature was their willingness to let Sporting retain the winger for the 2025/26 season.
United hoped to sign Quenda immediately, thus making their proposals less appealing than Chelsea’s.
However, two other reasons have also been highlighted when detailing Man Utd’s miss.
The first relates to cold hard cash, with Chelsea simply stumping up more than Man Utd in the financial stakes.
Man Utd’s budget for January signings was only €35m, per Romano. Sporting quickly determined that number was nowhere near good enough to seal a deal for Quenda.
Instead, United splashed out on Patrick Dorgu and hoped to pre-agree a deal for Quenda for the summer. Unfortunately for Amorim and co, Chelsea had other ideas and acted decisiviely.
Furthermore, Amorim has also been cited as one surprise factor why Quenda DIDN’T want to join Man Utd.
Amorim deployed Quenda at right wing-back during his final months in Lisbon. But per both David Ornstein and Fabrizio Romano, Quenda sees himself as an out-and-out winger which is a position Amorim does not feature in his 3-4-2-1 formation.
Chelsea, meanwhile, do feature advanced wingers under Enzo Maresca and fittingly for Quenda, the Blues see the 17-year-old as being more effective the further up field he’s deployed.