The 18-year-old midfielder has been linked with a number of Premier League clubs, including Manchester City, Liverpool, and Newcastle United, as a result of his performances in Brazil thus far in his young career.
However, according to The Times, Chelsea are ahead of their rivals in the race to sign him, despite the fact that Paris Saint-Germain are also interested in the teenager. Sources close to Chelsea have told 90MIN that they hope to reach an agreement before the January transfer window opens, at which point they will announce a deal, which is expected to be worth around 12 million pounds but could rise to around 20 million with add-ons.
Vasco currently plays in Brazil’s second division, and Santos had a standout season in 2022, scoring eight goals in 33 games.
Many people expected him to sign for Newcastle after months of speculation about a move to St James’ Park. The Magpies were in talks with Vasco in October and were confident of signing Santos..
Chelsea spent heavily on established players this summer, bringing in Raheem Sterling, Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucrella, and Kalidou Koulibaly, but they have also looked to invest in youth.
At the same time, the Stamford Bridge club is trying to build for the future, bringing in Carney Chukwuemeka from Aston Villa, Omari Hutchinson from Arsenal, Gabriel Slonina from Chicago Fire, and Cesare Casadei from Inter Milan.
Graham Potter’s men return to Premier League action on December 27 at home against Bournemouth, looking to regain some form following the World Cup break. The Blues lost three games in a row before the Qatar break, without scoring a goal in any of them, and will need to regain form quickly to relieve pressure on the new manager.
