Here we go! Romano announces Chelsea signing - with a twist

Tom Weber

Updated: 12 Jun 2024 15:53 CDT
3 min read

Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea, here we go — © IMAGO

Chelsea's deal to sign Pedro Lima is 'here we go' done, but the youngster will be signed via Strasbourg, according to Fabrizio Romano.

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FootballTransfers exclusively revealed Chelsea's pursuit of Brazil youth international Lima in late May on The Transfers Podcast. We were told that the Blues had launched an initial bid worth €7 million plus €3m in add-ons.

The wonderkid's club, Brazilian Serie B side Sport Recife, held out for a little more and Chelsea were eventually forced to bump up the bonuses a little bit, with Fabrizio Romano now reporting that they will pay a potential €3.5m.

Crucially, the Italian transfer expert has dropped his famous 'here we go' on the deal. The west London giants have reached a verbal agreement with Lima on personal terms and an agreement with his club.

Though he is only 17 right now, Lima will be eligible to head to Europe this summer as he turns 18 on July 1. However, the youngster's destination will not be Stamford Bridge.

Lima set for Strasbourg

As first revealed here in May, Lima does not yet qualify for a UK work permit, which is why Chelsea were considering moving the teenager to BlueCo affiliate Strasbourg in Ligue 1. This has now been confirmed by Romano.

The right-back, who has been likened to Brazil legend Cafu, will head to Alsace initially with a view to eventually being moved on to Chelsea. In the bygone season, Lima's Chelsea-owned compatriots Angelo Gabriel and Andrey Santos were already loaned to Strasbourg.

This was not without controversy as the French side's fans felt that their club was being transformed into a farm team for the Premier League giants. The signing of an 18-year-old when Strasbourg were severely lacking experience last season will likely do little to reconcile Alsatians with the much-maligned BlueCo project.