Chelsea are on the verge of reaching an agreement with Corinthians as they pursue a deal for Brazilian prodigy Gabriel Moscardo.
UOL journalist Bruno Andrade reports that the Blues have submitted a proposal that will mark the biggest sale in Corinthians history.
Chelsea are set to pay an initial €21 million for the 17-year-old defensive midfielder while an additional €4m will be disbursed in add-ons.
Despite being on the cusp of recording a club-record sale, the Brazilian outfit also stands to pocket a substantial fee if Chelsea decide to cash in on Moscardo with a 10% sell-on clause inserted in the deal.
The agreement will see Corinthians receive €25m in total, surpassing the €20m they bagged when Benfica snapped up Pedrinho in 2020.
Should a deal be finalised, Moscardo is expected to continue his development with Corinthians until he turns 18 before linking up with Chelsea next summer.
The youngster will slot into the Blues’ Cobham youth system, although an immediate temporary stint away from Stamford Bridge could also be on the cards.
Moscardo was only promoted to the Corinthians first team in July and has managed just ten senior appearances across all competitions for the Brazilian outfit.
Chelsea have made it a habit of shopping in the Brazilian top flight since the Todd Boehly-led consortium took over the club last summer.
Moscardo is set to become the fourth Brazilian youngster to switch South America for Chelsea in the Boehly era following the earlier arrivals of Andrey Santos, Angelo Gabriel and Deivid Washington.
Santos will continue his development in the Premier League, having joined Nottingham Forest on a season-long loan, while Angelo has been shipped out to Chelsea’s sister club RC Strasbourg.
Washington is expected to join Angelo in the French top flight, while Moscardo’s imminent arrival will take Chelsea’s expenditure close to £1 billion over the last three transfer windows.
The Blues are also expected to announce the arrival of Manchester City youngster Cole Palmer ahead of tomorrow’s transfer deadline, having agreed a £45m deal for the England under-21 international.
