Chelsea are reportedly planning a £47million bid for a Brazilian wonderkid.
Estevao Willian, 17, has earned the nickname ‘Messinho’ for his performances in the band after his time in the Palmeiras youth team.
The Blues will offer £25.5m with possible add-ons reaching £21m for the youngster, having already turned down two advances.
It’s a similar situation to Real Madrid paying £52m for Endrick because Willian comes from the same club and is only 12 games into his professional career.
Chelsea are “strongly” in the race for him but face competition from a litany of big fans, according to one Brazilian outlet. UOL.
Chelsea are reportedly willing to bid £47m for Brazilian prodigy Estevao Willian
The youngster has only made 12 senior appearances but is already being touted as Endrick.
‘Messinho’, or ‘Little Messi’, is his nickname because some even compared him to Lionel Messi.
He already has 547,000 followers on Instagram, testament to his growing popularity in his homeland, and posts solely about football.
At just 10 years old, he became the youngest Brazilian player to land a deal with Nike, even ahead of Neymar and Rodrygo.
He has managed two goals and one assist during his 12 games. It has been a rapid progression for Willian, who debuted last year and has a contract until 2026.
At least he comes with experience in winning titles, having lifted the Brazilian league trophy this year and the Sao Paulo state championship last year.
He also scored three goals and provided three assists at last year’s U-17 World Cup, where Brazil reached the quarterfinals.
Comparisons with Endrick, who will arrive at Madrid in the summer after reaching an agreement in December 2022 when he was only 16 years old, are inevitable. Endrick scored Brazil’s only goal against England at Wembley in March.
UOL reports that Palmeiras could wait for a bidding war to break out, suggesting that even £47m might not be enough for his services.
He has not yet played with Brazil’s senior team, but last year he played with them in the U-17 World Cup.
They are already comparing Willian with Endrick, who went through the same academy and is aiming for Real Madrid
Due to labor laws, he will only be able to move in next summer when he is 18 years old.
Todd Boehly’s spending at Chelsea has exceeded £1 billion and he has opted almost exclusively for young, virtually unproven talent.
Thiago Silva’s tearful announcement that he will leave the club at the end of the season leaves the club in an unusual position: having no players over the age of 30 heading into the new campaign as it stands.
They could also lose Conor Gallagher in the summer, another leadership figure.
Boehly has already brought in several young Brazilians like Andrey Santos, Deivid Washington and Angelo, but none have become regulars.
Could Willian be the last and win over fans like the former Stamford Bridge favorite of the same name did?
Joao Paulo Sampaio, director of the Palmeiras youth academy, rates it very highly. One thing these types of players have is a strong personality, a big ego to say: ‘I am, I can and I will’. And they do it. For these out-of-this-world talents, things are easy. It’s difficult for the average player, who makes up the vast majority,” he said. fifa.
“He prefers Estevao,” Sampaio said of his name. “Messinho’s thing was put on hold, but his game is very similar to that of the Argentine.”