Chelsea set to win the race for highly rated 18-year-old Brazilian midfielder

Chelsea closing in on Vasco de Gama midfielder Andrey Santos

According to Le10 Sport (h/t Metro), Chelsea are set to beat the competitors in the race to the highly talented Brazilian midfielder Andrey Santos from Vasco de Gama.

The Blues are not alone in the race for the prodigious Brazilian with PSG, Newcastle United and Barcelona all said to be monitoring the teenage midfielder. However, it seems like Chelsea made the first move and could wrap up the deal ahead of the others.

It is being claimed that the Blues are very close to reaching an agreement with Vasco de Gama for a fee of €15 million which would see the talented teenager become a Chelsea player in January after which his future will have to be decided.

The 18-year-old midfielder made his first-team breakthrough with the Brazilian club earlier this year and has become a mainstay in the heart of midfield. Capable of playing as a central midfielder and a defensive midfielder, Santos is already very well-rounded for his age.

He scored eight goals from midfield in 36 games for the club across all competitions his season. These numbers are pretty impressive from the position he plays in and these numbers will only keep improving as he progresses through his career.

Chelsea have a keen eye for identifying young talents at a very early stage and developing them. The Blues have a good loan system where they practise sending players out for experience and if they are impressive, they are integrated into the first team.

The Blues also have a very impressive academy which arguably is the best one in England. The Blues could choose to integrate Santos into the youth levels where he can continue his development after which a call could be made on his future.

More Chelsea News:

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• Club News: Chelsea boss Graham Potter sets first team training plan ahead of Aston Villa friendly
• Chelsea set to miss out on RB Leipzig midfielder Konrad Laimer with Bayern Munich leading the race

Santos is not the first impressive young talent that Chelsea are going to sign and he definitely will not be the last one that the Blues are signing. It remains to be seen how the Blues go about with their plan to develop Santos. The Brazilian seems to have a huge future in the game and let’s see how he pans out.