Chelsea agreed to sign Santos winger Angelo yesterday for £15million and the 18-year-old is expected to join Strasbourg on loan.
The 18-year-old Brazilian wonderkid is considered one of the hottest prospects in Brazil’s Serie A, and the Blues are believed to have been in competition with Barcelona for the player’s signature.
The Catalan club later pulled out of the race, leaving Chelsea to complete the recruitment of another talented South American teenager.
During the January transfer window, the Blues secured the services of Angelo’s contemporary, Andrey Santos, who is set to move to west London after fulfilling the requirements necessary for gaining a UK work visa.
Earlier this month, Chelsea agreed a deal to sign Ecuadorian rising star Kendry Paez from Independiente del Valle, who will move to the Premier League outfit in two years, when he turns 18.
Angelo has become the latest South American wonderkid to join Chelsea during the window
The Santos player’s Brazil team-mate Andrey Santos previously signed for the Blues in January
Despite his youth, Angelo has made 129 appearances since breaking into the senior team at the age of 16.
In 2021, the teenager become the youngest goal scorer in the history of the Copa Libertadores, and has also featured at international level, winning 15 caps for Brazil’s various youth sides.
Angelo will go straight to Strasbourg to spend a season on loan, after Chelsea purchased a majority stake in the Ligue 1 club in a bid to set up a multi-club model in the same vein as Manchester City and Red Bull.
But Chelsea are not seeking to swell their ranks without ensuring a number of players leave Stamford Bridge this summer.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek became the fourth player – after N’Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Mateo Kovacic – to move on from Chelsea after agreeing an £18.5m with AC Milan.
Signing all but completed, the academy graduate deal is due at AC Milan on Thursday for his medical after flying to Italy on Wednesday.
His move may yet be followed by that of his Blues team-mate Christian Pulisic, who has also been linked to Milan’s Serie A rivals Juventus and Napoli.
But Chelsea’s £25m asking price for the USMNT captain is deterring Milan from a double move.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek is set to move to AC Milan and will complete his medical on Thursday
Pulisic has struggled for playing time under all four of Chelsea’s managers during their turbulent 2022-23 campaign.
But his prolonged spell on the bench has failed to dent his international prospects – Pulisic scored a brace against Mexico in the USA’s CONCACAF Nations League semi-final, and later hoisted the trophy aloft after his side won the trophy earlier this month.
Chelsea’s bid to offload a number of contracted players shows no sign of slowing down, however, with goalkeeper Edouard Mendy completing his £17m switch to Al Ahli on Wednesday evening.
Kai Havertz also made his crosstown move to Arsenal on Wednesday, becoming the north London club’s first summer signing to the tune of £65m.
Soucre: dailymail.co.uk
