Chelsea preparing €55m offer for 17-year-old that wants Barcelona move

After an underwhelming season in 2023/24 it appears that Chelsea are already planning ahead, and they could be about to launch an audacious €55m move for a player that would prefer to play for Barcelona.

Estevao Willian Almeida de Oliveira Goncalves, also known as Messinho, is lighting up the Brazilian league with some great performances for Palmeiras, and they haven’t gone unnoticed in West London.

Chelsea want Messinho

It’s long been known that the 17-year-old dreams of playing for Barcelona, however, the Catalan giants money troubles make such a move difficult.

There are reasons to believe that another Brazilian to join the ranks at Barca would be of obvious benefit, however, Financial Fair Play rules are so stringent at present, that president, Joan Laporta, couldn’t commit to such a hire in all honesty. At least not at this point in time.

Mundo Deportivo (h/t Fichajes) say that the Blues are keen to take advantage of that situation and have put a concrete offer on the table for the player and his representatives to consider.

It’s an extraordinary amount to investing on a player that has only played 32 games to date, including just five in the Brazilian Serie A, per transfermarkt.

Clearly, Chelsea see something in the player that they can work with, and the potential fee would even dwarf those that Real Madrid paid for Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes.

Regardless, the player himself would need to accede to any switch, and if there were any chance either now or in the near future for Barcelona to sign him, it’s almost certain he would rather wait for that call rather than taking his chances in England.