Chelsea BEGGED not to complete wonderkid deal that 'fascinates' Romano

Tom Weber

Updated: 4 May 2024 10:30 CDT
4 min read

Chelsea have been begged by Palmeiras manager Abel Ferreira not to sign Estevao.

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The 17-year-old winger is taking Brazil by storm due to his impressive showings for Palmeiras. Transfer speculation surrounding the teenager has been rampant for months, with the likes of Chelsea and Barcelona heavily linked.

Despite his youth, the youngster already boasts a €60 million release clause, which makes a deal difficult from Barcelona's point of view. Chelsea appear to be one of the favourites for his signature, but recent reports in Brazil that the Blues have launched a bid evidently jumped the gun.

Either way, it is clear that the 17-year-old - who has been dubbed 'Messinho' - is a special talent and Palmeiras boss Abel Ferreira is desperate to keep him. “I’m going to ask [Palmeiras president] Leila not to sell. Don’t sell this player! His father, agent and he will be sad, but let Estêvão stay with us until 2027."

“I really think he’s different from anything I’ve ever seen. He’s a boy who defends, attacks, talk about that. I ask you to talk about the positive things, which are many. He can be a reference for the future for us. All teams need this type of player because they do things differently. I’m not the one who teaches him how to dribble or shoot, he already has that."

Romano on Estevao

High praise indeed from a manager who has also overseen the development of Real Madrid-bound Endrick. But Ferreira isn't the only one with strong feelings about Estevao.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has dropped a fresh update on the youngster's future and admitted that the speculation surrounding Estevao 'fascinates' him. “We had information about an official tweet from Chelsea but what I’m hearing is that Chelsea have not presented an official bid," he told CaughtOffside.

"There is still no official bid from any club at this point, not even a formal bid at the moment. Everything is about talks. Chelsea are really well informed on the situation. They have been tracking Estevao since November, he’s one of the talents they’re monitoring in South America and are in regular contact but no formal proposal has been sent to Palmeiras yet."

“The player is also appreciated by Barcelona, but because of Financial Fair Play Barcelona won’t spend €55/60m on Estevao in this transfer window. Let’s see what Chelsea will decide to do with this deal because it fascinates me."