Chelsea make ambitious offer for the ‘Brazilian Declan Rice’

Robin Bairner

25 Nov 2023 15:37 CST
3 min read

Declan Rice, Chelsea, Brazil — © ProShots

Chelsea are stepping up their chase to sign Corinthians midfielder Gabriel Moscardo.

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The 18-year-old has been dubbed the ‘Brazilian Declan Rice’ because of his style of play, while he has also attracted interest from Arsenal and Liverpool, though the Reds’ intentions are thought to be cooler than those of their Premier League rivals.

Indeed, Chelsea are ready to turn the heat up in the transfer race for the youngster, who has a release clause of €100 million in his contract with the Brazilian outfit.

According to Goal Brasil, the Blues have already made a first offer for the player, though their €25 million offer, which also included bonus payments, is expected to be knocked back by the teenager’s club. There has been no official response to this offer, the report indicates.

Corinthians, who initially suggested that they would settle for a deal at the €30m mark, are expected to issue a counteroffer that they want at least €35m for the player.

The Brazilian side do not believe that they will be able to raise a bid that will get anywhere near the player’s release fee.

Any of these figures would represent a club-record sale for the Sao Paulo outfit.

Chelsea in the driving seat for Moscardo

It is thought that with this sizeable fee attached to the player, the situation favours Chelsea above Arsenal and certainly Barcelona, who have also been monitoring the youngster but are in financial strife.

The Blues, meanwhile, have experience in this market, having signed Deivid Washington and Angelo from Santos this summer as well as Andrey Santos from Vasco da Gama during the 2022 January transfer window.

The situation surrounding Gabriel Moscardo is volatile because of the situation at Corinthians, who are due to have a presidential election in the near future. The administration of the club could, therefore, change, and that could mean the landscape in this deal shifts dramatically in a short space of time.