Rumor: Thiago Maia readies his transfer pitch to Chelsea FC

Old and busted: Chelsea pursuing Santos wunderkind Gabigol. New hotness: Chelsea pursuing Santos wunderkind Thiago Maia.

Lending credence to the cynic’s take that the economics and business of global sports have commoditized the players, the rumor mill now says that Chelsea may enter preliminary discussions over another19-year old Brazilian: Thiago Maia. Maia plays for Santos, alongside Gabriel Barbosa Almeida, aka “Gabigol,” aka “the next Neymar.”

Maia is a defensive midfielder who was second on Santos with 2.1 interceptions per game and 62.1 passes per game. He has 43 appearances over the last two seasons for Santos, his first professional club.

Maia’s agent, Kia Joorabchian, is reportedly bringing Chelsea an offer to acquire Maia for £15 million. At that relatively low price, Chelsea can afford to – you guessed it – send Maia out on loan for several seasons without feeling pressured to get an immediate return on their expense.

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Like his teammate Gabigol, Maia would need a significant adjustment period to learn to play a more physical style of football. By the time Maia completed several loans and was ready to vie for his place at Chelsea, John Obi Mikel and possibly Nemanja Matic will have moved on from the club. Maia would join N’Golo Kante in defensive midfield, protecting the backline and pivoting the run of play from defense to offense.

The prospect of bringing in a barely-known Brazilian midfielder is slightly less far-fetched than it was yesterday at this time, before the rumors of an Oscar transfer started circulating. While Maia and Oscar are not a one-for-one swap, defense has always been Oscar’s liability and the club is currently sitting well with attacking midfielders. Maia could be a “replacement plus” for Oscar.

Thaigo Maia first appeared on Premier League transfer rumor wires in March, when Chelsea and Manchester United were supposedly interested in him. Both rumors started with the same source, Jorge Nicola, who may simply be taking a second pass through his standard repertoire of unsubstantiated press leaks.

Defensive midfielder is not a position on Chelsea’s list of needed positions, particularly after signing N’Golo Kante. If Chelsea signs Maia, the club will officially have lost the plot on this summer’s transfer window.

Then again, transfer activity at Chelsea and across the Premier League has been relatively low. Aside from Pogba’s projected record signing, the English powerhouses have not made any significant signings.

Maia would not be a headline-grabbing signing, but that could make him a smarter signing as he is free from the over-heated European transfer scene. Maia could be a target for a club looking for a mid-price, long-term developmental player instead of the overpriced players in the European sphere. Will that club be Chelsea? Hopefully not.