Chelsea's pursuit of Brazilian wonderkid HIJACKED by Ligue 1 club
Cameron Smith
- 6 Aug 2023 16:15 BST
- 4 min read
Chelsea’s pursuit of Santos wonderkid Deivid Washington has hit a stumbling block following interest from AS Monaco.
The Blues have submitted an official bid for the 18-year-old forward, as reported by Globo and Fabrizio Romano on 4 August, with personal terms reportedly agreed with the Stamford Bridge outfit.
MORE: Premier League 2023/24 summer transfers: All the Done Deals
Chelsea are also said to be confident of sealing a deal for Washington, with the west London club planning on selling him to their Ligue 1 partner club Strasbourg.
However, Monaco are ready to put their name in the ring as they attempt to hijack Chelsea’s move for Washington.
MORE: The HUGE list of wonderkids Chelsea have signed under Todd Boehly
Monaco want Washington
According to Foot Mercato, Monaco’s new sporting director Thiago Scuro has travelled to Brazil to meet Washington and his family in the hope of persuading him to snub Chelsea and move to the Principality.
Monaco are said to be pushing to beat Chelsea to acquire the services of Washington, but they have not yet matched Santos’ €20 million asking price.
It’s believed that Monaco boss Adi Hutter is keen on landing Washington having been impressed with his breakthrough into senior football.
Washington has two goals in nine Brazilian Serie A appearances in his senior career so far after making his Santos first-team debut in April 2023.
Monaco are also interested in signing Juventus midfielder and former Chelsea loanee Denis Zakaria, as well as Fulham’s Tosin Adarabioyo.
They have already signed Mohamed Salisu from Southampton and Philipp Kohn from RB Salzburg this summer; Axel Disasi (Chelsea), Jean Lucas (Santos), Arthur Zagre (Excelsior), Jean Marcelin (Bordeaux), Anthony Musaba (Sheffield Wednesday) and Pele (released) have all left.
If he joins Chelsea, Washington would become the 23rd player aged under 23 to join Chelsea since Todd Boehly became the club’s owner last summer. The Blues have also added Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku, Diego Moreira, Lesley Ugochukwu, Robert Sanchez, Angelo Gabriel and Disasi this window.
