are in advanced talks to sign Santos’ teenage winger Angelo Gabriel in a deal worth around £15million, according to reports.
The west London club’s new owners have tasked their new-look recruitment team with hoovering up as much young talent as possible over the past year.
In addition to high-profile signings like and Mykhaylo Mudryk, Chelsea have also signed the likes of , and Cesare Casadei.
Their quest to secure emerging talent has been boosted by changes to the Premier League’s work permit criteria.
Previously, all players signing from overseas had to qualify for a Governing Body Endorsement, which was based on a points system where players accrued points based on factors such as the quality of the league they have signed from and international caps.
But from this summer onwards, Premier League sides will be allowed to register up to four players that do not meet the GBE criteria – and it looks like Chelsea are already taking advantage of the change.
According to transfer expert , an official bid worth £15m has been lodged with Santos for youngster Angelo, who is rated as another top young talent in Brazil.
He broke into the club’s first team at the age of just 16 and became the youngest goalscorer in the history of the Copa Libertadores – though that record has since been broken by Real Madrid-bound Endrick.
Incredibly, Angelo has already played 129 senior games despite his tender years and has played three times for Brazil’s Under-20 team.
Despite playing as a forward, Angelo has a rather modest goalscoring return, netting just three times in 67 league outings for Santos.
Unlike compatriot Andrey Santos, who had to be loaned out because he did not qualify for a work permit, the new Premier League rules mean Angelo would be able to link up with the Chelsea squad immediately or go out on loan to a Championship or Premier League side.
The west Londoners are set for another very busy summer and have started working on a deal to sign Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo, who is likely to cost around £80m.
Chelsea are also working tirelessly to offload a host of players and trim their bloated squad, withwith Manchester United over Mason Mount, Kai Havertz set to join Arsenal in a £65m deal, Mateo Kovacic already having joined Manchester City and as many as five players potentially heading to Saudi Arabia.
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