Chelsea have spent the last couple of summers hoovering up top South American talent, and this year looks to be no different.
It’s been a while since we first heard the whispers about Pedro Lima, the brilliant young wing back who’s been called the “heir to Cafu” in Brazil, and things seemed to have been progressing nicely.
It was expected that Chelsea would buy him, and he would be loaned to their affiliate club in Ligue 1, Strasbourg.
But Nick Purewal’s recently published piece for the Evening Standard says it’s something different – it will actually be a transfer to Strasbourg, organised and paid for of course by BlueCo, the umbrella which unites both clubs.
That saves Chelsea one of their international loan slots, and is probably the most sensible move for players like Lima who are a couple of years away from being in the first team picture.
The youngster can then get to work adapting to a new life and the European game while Chelsea operate with Reece James and Malo Gusto as their main options. There’s no pressure to rush the young Brazilian into the team, and he can hopefully perform well and help Strasbourg.
A Chelsea player in all but name
“The 17-year-old right-back is known to be excited by a pending switch to France’s Ligue 1 side, who fall under the Chelsea ownership umbrella,” Purewal wrote.
“While Lima is not expected to make a move to Chelsea, the Blues’ owners will keep a close eye on his development.”
Effectively if he performs well he’s converted into a Chelsea player. It’s a move the owners possibly wish had had already made with Angelo Gabriel, who was there on loan last year but doesn’t look like he’s going to come back into the first team picture at the mothership this year.
