Chelsea confirm signing of Deivid Washington

Chelsea have announced that they have completed the signing of Santos forward Deivid Washington.

On Thursday afternoon, head coach Mauricio Pochettino confirmed that the Blues were in the market for a new attacking player to help cope with the absence of several first-teamers.

However, in the background, Chelsea have been bidding to secure the signature of another young Brazilian talent having already signed Andrey Santos and Angelo Gabriel.

The latter was an established member of the Santos senior ranks before he finalised a switch to Stamford Bridge and went out on loan to Strasbourg.

Deivid may follow the same path in due course, yet there was no mention of a loan to the Ligue 1 outfit as Chelsea confirmed a deal for the 18-year-old.

Deivid's first day at HQ! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/NDC1YyIqlf

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 24, 2023

While a transfer fee has not been revealed, journalist Fabrizio Romano has indicated that Chelsea have paid a €16m (£13.7m) fee plus a further €4m (£3.4m) are due in add-ons.

Romano also adds that a loan switch to Strasbourg is now no longer guaranteed, potentially a result of Chelsea having to be watchful of how many players go on foreign loans.

Allocated a maximum of seven such deals, the West Londoners have already completed five exits to teams outside of Great Britain, and Romelu Lukaku may soon come into the equation for a temporary departure.

Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital have handed a seven-year contract to Deivid who departs Santos having played fewer than 900 minutes of senior football, scoring just two goals.