Chelsea have reportedly reached an agreement to sign Sporting Lisbon midfielder Dario Essugo in an £18.5m deal after already securing the signature of Geovany Quenda.
On Friday, it was claimed that the Blues had succeeded with a 'secret blitz' for 17-year-old wing-back Quenda, who is expected to join Enzo Maresca's side in a £40m deal this summer.
Quenda will spend the 2025-26 season back on loan at Sporting before officially making the move to Chelsea in 2026, and the Blues won the race for his signature despite persistent talk of Manchester United being interested in a deal.
Ruben Amorim's side are said to have held informal discussions over a move for Quenda, but the Red Devils never made an official bid, having already brought Patrick Dorgu to the club in January.
After Chelsea and Sporting shook hands on an agreement for Quenda, the two clubs conducted another piece of business in rapid time, as Fabrizio Romano reports that Essugo will also soon be a Blues player.
Essugo to make Chelsea debut at Club World Cup?
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The 20-year-old - who is currently plying his trade on loan at Spanish side Las Palmas - has supposedly already completed his medical and will join for a relatively modest £18.5m.
Essugo's Stamford Bridge contract will reportedly run for seven years until the summer of 2032, and unlike Dorgu, the midfielder will be integrated into the first team ahead of next season.
A separate report from BBC Sport claims that Essugo's contract will also include a 12-month option until the end of the 2032-33 season, and his 'rapid development' caught the eye of Blues scouts.
Chelsea are understood to be keen to have the 20-year-old in their squad in time for this summer's Club World Cup, which for Maresca's side begins with a group-stage match against Mexican outfit Leon on June 16.
Essugo will depart Sporting 11 years after joining as a youth player in 2014, since when he has played 25 games for the first team, including two appearances in the Champions League.
This season, the Portugal Under-21 international has registered one assist from 17 La Liga appearances for Las Palmas, although he has also received a pair of red cards for two bookable offences.
Where will Essugo fit in at Chelsea?
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Making a name for himself as a ball-winning number six, Essugo is expected to be taken under Moises Caicedo's wing when he arrives at Stamford Bridge in a few months' time.
The 20-year-old could hardly be learning from a better superior, as Caicedo has overcome a tricky start at Chelsea to be regarded as one of the Premier League's most impressive midfielders in the 2024-25 season.
With Essugo set to join the Blues, 19-year-old Mathis Amougou is expected to make the switch to sister club Strasbourg, while the future of Lesley Ugochukwu remains up in the air.
The 20-year-old will return from his loan spell at doomed Southampton this summer and is still contracted to the club until 2030, but as Essugo's arrival will likely push him down the pecking order, a sale may not be beyond the realm of possibility.
Ben Knapton
