Chelsea have made a verbal proposal for the potential transfer of 17-year-old Corinthians midfielder Gabriel Moscardo in the last few hours and are set to intensify efforts to win the race for his signature.
The Brazilian wonderkid is one of the most highly regarded talents in his age group in world football right now, and CaughtOffside understands Chelsea chief Todd Boehly is keen to make the teenager his latest addition to this impressive roster of top young players.
Moscardo also has admirers from other clubs in England, as well as in Italy and Spain, and Chelsea are eager to anticipate competition from their rivals by moving quickly for the youngster.
Sources with information on the progress on the deal have informed CaughtOffside that Chelsea’s opening offer is a verbal one, worth around €20million, and it is expected to fall short of Corinthians’ valuation.
The Brazilian club are likely to ask for closer to €30m, but Chelsea will look to negotiate that price down, with further exchanges likely.
Although there is no agreement yet, there is some indication that talks could move in a positive direction soon, and it will be intriguing to see what Chelsea can do with yet another of the finest prospects in world football.
Boehly has also invested significant money in elite young midfielders such as Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, and Moscardo is a similar kind of defensive midfield player.
Aged just 17, Moscardo surely wouldn’t be one to make an impact on the first-team any time particularly soon, but there’s no doubt CFC could have an exceptional squad of players in a few years’ time.