The last few days have seen chatter about Brazilian full back Pedro Lima’s move to Chelsea really hotting up.
We’ve had a few weeks of whispers about interest in him, now things are quite rapidly reaching the final stages.
Today the player’s agent Renato Guimaraes has openly spoken in detail about the move, revealing how close it is to being done.
According to the representative, things are very close in on the personal terms side of things. One can only assume therefore that the club have a vague understanding of the shape of a deal on their side too.
“There has been progress in the negotiations, but it’s not over yet,” Guimaraes said in quotes picked up by Brazilian source Globo Esporte.
“The salary part is settled, but there are still some clauses to be defined in the contract, some bonuses.”
An unusual agent
It’s quite rare to hear an agent speak so openly like this – and obviously, it’s pretty convenient for us to know exactly what stage things have reached.
In theory, Chelsea shouldn’t even be able to speak to Lima about personal terms until the deal is done with Sport. But there’s no indication of that – just an agent speaking pretty openly and revealing that the idea of “tapping up” as it used to exist is no longer really a concern.
Once Chelsea have these final elements of the personal terms squared away with Pedro, they will then move on to sealing the deal with Sport, who it seems are set for a major windfall when the player moves, meaning they’re not too concerned with standing in the way of the transfer.
We’re also curious how Lima has been sold the move – as a long term Chelsea prospect, or just as someone joining the “BlueCo” group who will get a great platform in Europe, whether at Stamford Bridge or elsewhere?