CONFIRMED: Chelsea in talks with SECOND Sporting CP star after Quenda

Tom Weber

Updated: 14 Mar 2025 12:22 CDT
3 min read

Chelsea are in talks to sign Sporting CP midfielder Dario Essugo, according to a report.

The Blues pulled off a major coup early on Friday when they managed to steal Geovany Quenda from under the nose of Manchester United. The 17-year-old has been the Red Devils' top target, but Chelsea managed to hijack the deal.

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Quenda is set to join in 2026 and sign a seven-year deal. However, it has now been revealed that he is not the only Sporting CP youngster the West London club are in talks to sign.

According to Ben Jacobs, Chelsea are also in negotiations over midfielder Dario Essugo, who celebrates his 20th birthday today and is currently on loan at LaLiga side Las Palmas.

Chelsea to sign Essugo?

Chelsea's interest in the Portuguese youth international has not come out of the blue. On the contrary, he was already an option under consideration towards the end of the January window.

After offloading Cesare Casadei and Carney Chukwuemeka, Chelsea wanted to add another young midfielder to their side and explored three options: Essugo, Nico O'Reilly of Man City and Saint-Etienne star Mathis Amougou.

The Blues ultimately opted to sign Amougou, but the contact with Essugo never broke off. On the contrary, shortly after the window closed, it was claimed that the Premier League giants had remained in talks and that a summer move was entirely possible.

Chelsea expert Jacobs has now confirmed that negotiations with Sporting and Essugo are indeed still taking place. Progress has been made but a deal is not done yet.

Essugo would be another addition to Chelsea's already-stacked defensive/central midfield department. The 20-year-old has primarily played as a holding midfielder for Las Palmas this season. He made 25 senior appearances for Sporting prior to his loan to Spain.