Chelsea are reportedly ready to rival Liverpool and Arsenal for the potential transfer of Corinthians wonderkid Gabriel Moscardo, who could cost around £26million.
The Brazilian teenager looks like an outstanding prospect and it seems there is plenty of interest in him from some of the biggest clubs in the Premier League, with the Evening Standard naming Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal as potential suitors.
The report also notes that November 25th, in ten days’ time, could be a key date as that’s when Corinthians’ presidential elections will be over and they could be ready to discuss a deal.
Moscardo fits the bill for Chelsea, looking precisely like the kind of profile of player they’ve tended to target under Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali since they took over the club from Roman Abramovich.
We’ve seen other elite young players moving to Stamford Bridge in recent times, including fellow Brazilian Andrey Santos, so one imagines Moscardo could also be tempted to make the move to west London to ensure he continues to play regularly and get the chance to develop.
Liverpool, meanwhile, have been rebuilding their midfield in recent times, so could do well to bring in another young talent like this to provide something a bit different from recent acquisitions like Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister.
Arsenal are mostly pretty well stocked in the middle of the park after signing Declan Rice and Jorginho in the last two transfer windows, though the latter is not getting any younger, so there could be room for another addition soon.
I think Chelsea will offer him double the wages offered by Arsenal, and like so many other money grabbers, he will sign for Chelsea. The good news is that after playing his best footballing years and he is all spent up, Arsenal will wait until he is 30 plus years old, and buy him as a Chelsea reject for £12 million. Unless Chelsea sell him earlier for £65 million. It depends on how clever we are with our usual track record of buying from Chelsea. In a nut shell if he even talks to Chelsea, then Arsenal should stay well clear of the player now and in the future. History with Chelsea transfer dealing show that we always get screwed.