Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Sporting’s Geovany Quenda in a deal that could be worth up to £41.9m (€50m).
Sky Sports News understands the 17-year-old is set to remain at the Portuguese club next season before officially joining Chelsea in the summer of next year. The Portugal U21 international is expected to sign a seven-year deal at Stamford Bridge with the option of an additional year.
Quenda broke into the Sporting first team last summer under current Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim.
Quenda broke through at Sporting under current Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim
The versatile wide player, who has played in the right and left wing-back positions as well as further forward, had been linked with a reunion with his former boss at Old Trafford.
Quenda has played 43 times this season and ranks in joint-fourth for assists in Liga Portugal with five.
Former Sporting Academy coach: ‘He reminds me of Saka’
Quenda starred for Sporting against both Manchester City and Arsenal in this season’s Champions League
In November, Sky Sports spoke exclusively to Fabio Roque, a former Sporting academy coach who had worked closely with Quenda. He drew slight comparisons with Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka, but also believes Quenda is a unique profile.
“Geo is so demanding with himself in the defensive moments,” Roque said.
“He reminds me of Saka”
“To close, to recover fast, to win the defensive duels for his teammates. It reminds me of Bukayo Saka at the beginning of his career when he played as a full-back.
“There is only one Geovany Quenda [though]. He is different from any other player I trained. He can create a mark on football that is totally different.
“We are talking about, with Lamine Yamal and Estevao Willian [set to join Chelsea in the summer of 2025], probably the best players in that generation born in 2007.”
