The links between Chelsea and Brazilian wonderkid Estevao Willian are getting stonger and stronger, and in fact we’ve now reached the stage where it’s just the terms of the deal that are being negotiated, a sure sign that a transfer is close.
Nizaar Kinsella’s latest update on things is that Chelsea are now offering €35m up front, with a further €25m in add ons. He reports that things are “trending towards a full agreement.”
That total of €60m seems to be roughly where the final fee will land. As with some of our previous deals under this ownership, we may end up offering more money in return for the ability to weight more of the payments into add ons and bonuses. Palmeiras will obviously push for the opposite, and in the end compromise will be found in the middle.
🆕 Chelsea talks with Palmeiras are progressing. The latest offer is €35m (£30m) plus €25m (£22m) in add-ons offer, €60m (£52m) total for Estevao Willian, per @brunoandrd.
It's now whether the structure of the add-ons is suitable but trending towards a full agreement. https://t.co/IgkmUvqKXx
— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) May 9, 2024
How to make it all square
What we want to know is – where is all this money coming from? We’ve had it hammered into us in brief after brief in the media that selling players is absolutely essential to balance the books for the spending that we’ve already made.
How on earth do you then justify spending such a vast sum on a player who can’t even legally play for your team for another year? If you have to buy to sell, you’re actively harming your current squad in the hope of future benefit.
No matter how good Estevao’s potential is, is it really worth having a weaker squad in the years leading up to him being ready? It’s a huge trade off. Nobody is saying that someone like Conor Gallagher is more talented than the Brazilian, but is the arrival of an 18 year old in a year really worth losing a vitally useful player in the present? We’re not so sure.
