Chelsea are well on the way to what on paper looks like a successful future with the club’s hierarchy being totally revamped by Todd Boehly and majority owners Behdad Egbhali and Jose E.Feliciano.
With the official appointment of Christoper Vivell, the final piece of the higher structure for now, is in place.
Brazil is a football nation that produces talent to an extremely high level and it’s been a while since Chelsea have explored this market.
Let’s take a closer look at five of the best U21 Brazilian talents that Chelsea’s recruitment and scouting team should have eyes on with a view to a potential move.
- Andrey Santos, 18, Midfielder, *Chelsea*
According to David Ornstein, Fabrizio Romano and various Brazilian sources, the transfer for Andrey Santos to Chelsea from Vasco Da Gama is agreed with the player set to join Stamford Bridge. .
The Brazilian youngster is currently on the star studded Brazil U20 squad that include many other top players.
In 38 appearances for Vasco, impressingly enough Santos bagged 8 goals as a dynamic midfielder.
Vasco fans have raved about the player’s complete game at such a young age.
Speaking to Brazilian sources, they tell us that Andrey is good on the ball, has good vision but could improve his final pass. At Vasco, Andrey has the freedom to go forward and carry the ball but also has impressive skills in tackling. Intriguingly, even though Andrey is described to us as a more attack minded player, they think that he can definitely be molded into a defensive midfielder and one of their complaints would be his discipline, he is very tough in the tackle and picks up an abundance of yellow cards.
Some Brazilians also believe that Andrey, at 18, is better than some other midfielders who are 21.
The main question they have is not his ability, it’s actually if Andrey can adapt to the tactics and intensity of the premier league, which is understandable, but Chelsea could send him out on loan to suitable clubs several times to develop these aspects, should they see that as the best solution.
- Danilo, 21, Midfielder, Palmeiras.
Out of all of the potential players I’ll be mentioning, Danilo is the most Europe ready player being 21.
Once Danilo makes his move into Europe, he’ll be in a good position to adapt quickly to a top club in need of a versatile DM.
Although the transfer of Andrey Santos could make this one a bit unrealistic for Chelsea, I’d be remiss to not mention the potential and capabilities of Danilo.
The 21 year old joined Palmerias for just €100k in 2020 and could turn a very nice profit on this player.
Danilo displays tenacity at a high level and has the technique to pick the ball up from deep and complete dribbles under pressure and bring the ball up.
Many of his traits and abilities have the makings to translate well to the top leagues in Europe.
Look for the player to complete a big move soon, it’s been reported that clubs like Arsenal are interested.
- Vitor Roque, 17, Forward, Paranaense
The young Brazilian attacker had a really impressive 2022 campaign contributing 14 goals + 5 assists in 51 appearances including scoring goals in important matches of the Copa Libertadores.
His balance, composure, finishing and technique stand out as traits you see in other top Brazilian talents that flourish at the pinnacles of football.
The player comparison I have for Vitor Roque is Kun Aguero in terms of profile (not potential).
Both aren’t the tallest strikers by any means, but their finishing along with dribbling at CF make them a goal scoring threat along with link up play.
Vitor Roque also has the ability to take on players dribbling and get by defenders using his pace making him a threat as a right winger, where he has played a bulk of his matches.
A nice trait labeled by many data & analytic websites is his defensive work, which was seen in talents such as Gabriel Jesus who signed for Manchester City from Palmeiras in 2017 for £27m.
It’s been reported that Chelsea are interested along with clubs like Barca, Madrid and PSG so it’ll be very interesting to see if Clearlake and Todd Boehly push to complete this signing.
- Angelo Gabriel, 18, Winger, Santos.
Angelo Gabriel broke the record as the youngest goal-scorer in the Copa Libertadores in 2021 at just 16 years old just to give a glimpse of his potential.
The tricky winger completes dribbles at some of the highest rates, while contributing 8 assists in 2022 at Santos with a real role on the team.
His dribbling ability along with age will make him an intriguing prospect that’ll have top clubs in for him with his contract expiring in just 2024.
Just turning 18 the other day, it’s nearly certain that a transfer to a top club is imminent to further progress his career but clubs might be alarmed slightly by his goal rate, having only scored 1 goal in 27 games in the Brazilian top flight.
- Estevão Willian, 15, Winger, Palmeiras
Estevão is likely to be one of the biggest prospects that Brazil produces in the 2020s with Fabrizio Romano reporting that Palmeiras have already rejected a €35m bid from PSG, yes, that’s right, a €35m offer was made for a 15 year old.
At just 10 years old, he signed the youngest contract with Nike from a Brazilian player.
His left foot is a wand in terms of close retention, dribbling and releasing the ball on time.
Estevão checks all the boxes as an extreme talent from the Palmerias youth system that has been nurturing talents at a high rate as of late.
He does a lot of his work from the right wing as he takes on a lot of defenders in isolation or cuts into the open field and opens up the attack.
His talent and IQ is beyond his years and it’s no surprise the top clubs in football want his signature, with all things going as I expect them too, this is someone that I expect to move at 17 or 18 to a world class club for a big wage packet, remember the name.
Joao Gomes, 21, Defensive Midfielder, Flamengo :
Best traits : Tackling, through balls, dribbling.
Con’s : Commits fouls too often.
Andre, 21, Defensive Midfielder, Fluminense.
Best traits : Passing, dribbling, concentration.
Con’s : Weak in aerial duels.
Matheus Franca, 18, forward, Flamengo.
Best traits : Aerial duels, Passing, Dribbling, Finishing.
Con’s : No significant con’s shown.
The fact is, Brazil, amongst France and Portugal, are tier 1 countries for talent exposure and I would not be surprised to see Chelsea enter the market in Brazil again soon to snap up another potential superstar.
👀 witness the sickness…….🔥