Chelsea 'back away' from wonderkid deal despite agreement

Tom Weber

• Updated: 15 Oct 2024 10:50 BST
• 3 min read

Chelsea have 'backed away' from signing Gabriel Mec despite reportedly reaching an agreement in August, according to Brazilian media.

The Blues have made it their goal to snap up the biggest and brightest young talents in world football and South America has been a happy hunting ground.

Estevao, arguably the biggest talent to come out of Brazil since Vinicius Jr or perhaps even Neymar, has already been signed and he is set to join the club in 2025.

But over the summer, Chelsea were also negotiating to land another exciting Brazilian attacker. Initially reported by local media and then confirmed by Fabrizio Romano, the Blues were in talks with Gremio to sign attacking midfielder Gabriel Mec.

When the news first broke, a quick agreement was expected to be struck, with some sources even going so far as to suggest that talks would take no longer than a week. Several months on, however, the deal looks dead in the water.

Chelsea level Gabriel Mec talks

In August, Brazilian media claimed that an agreement for a transfer potentially worth up to €24 million had been reached, but Globo Esporte now states that Chelsea have 'backed away' from the move.

It is asserted that this is due to Gabriel's recent performances. The Blues are said to have doubts about investing such a sizeable sum of money in light of some unimpressive outings in recent times.

Given that the 16-year-old won't be able to move to Europe until 2026, Chelsea will take their time to reappraise his potential signing and will continue to monitor him.

Gremio, too, are in no rush to let go of him, but they are reportedly already in talks with other European sides over a potential transfer. It remains to be seen whether Chelsea will reignite their interest further down the line.