Chelsea are closing in on completing the signing of Palmeiras star Estevao Willian with only “minor details” left to sort out according to reports.
The Blues have been targeting the best young talent from around the world following the takeover by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital in 2022.
The club have particularly honed in on the South American market and have already signed Kendry Paez, Andrey Santos, Angelo Gabriel and Deivid Washington from the continent with Estevao to follow.
Just minor details left on Estevao deal
Estevao alongside Paez are viewed as two of the brightest talents to emerge from South America, and having agreed a deal to sign Paez last summer the Blues have all but wrapped up a deal for Estevao.
Chelsea agreed a deal with Palmeiras last month which will see them reportedly pay an initial £29m for the 17-year-old with performance related add ons taking the deal to around £51.4m.
The deal will see the winger become the most expensive teenager from South America ever, eclipsing Endrick’s transfer to Real Madrid, and it’s a real show of faith from the Blues in the youngster.
People may have expected an official announcement given a deal had been agreed a number of weeks ago but Diario AS journalist Eduardo Burgos has provided an update on the transfer saying there had been a delay but only minor details are left to be sorted.
He took to X.com and said:
“Chelsea and Palmeiras are closing the final stages for the transfer of Estevão.
“The final amount will be 45M plus another 20 in variables based on games played with the Blues.
“The signing was delayed, but it is ‘practically done,’ only minor details remain.”
Estevao like Paez won’t join the club until the summer of 2025 when the pair will be 18, and it will be interesting to see what the plan is for the youngsters given the competition for places in the wide areas.
Chelsea already have the likes of Raheem Sterling, Noni Madueke and Mykhailo Mudryk in the wide areas and are pushing hard to sign Crystal Palace star Michael Olise.
Whilst Sterling will likely leave this summer or next quite where Estevao fits in remains to be seen, but it’s been reported he won’t go on loan and will immediately be part of the first team squad.
