In recent times, Chelsea have brought in a lot of young talents following the BlueCo Group’s takeover. Along with signing players who have arrived immediately, the club have also opted for pre-signing youngsters, where deals are secured ahead of time but only join the Stamford Bridge outfit after a year or so.
The recent acquisition of Estevao is an example of this policy. The Brazilian's signing was secured last season but he completed his move this summer.
Chelsea have also pre-signed some youngsters for next season, including Sporting Lisbon’s Geovany Quenda. The club reportedly reached an agreement for the player in March this year for a fee around £45 million despite interest from Manchester United.
Quenda is a highly rated Portuguese winger who has caught many eyes with his performances recently. Now, Arsenal legend Thierry Henry is among those impressed with the youngster.
Thierry Henry claims player who will join Chelsea next summer is special
Metro have reported that the Henry has told CBS:
"This kid is special. I saw him at the Under-21 Euros. The way he goes about what he does, I like it.
‘He has no fear, you would expect that from a youngster. But there’s something special about him.
‘I just hope that he can show it for a very long time. You can understand his celebration, him throwing his shirt. The start of a long story, hopefully."
Quenda has appeared in seven matches this season for Sporting Lisbon in all competitions, providing four assists overall and scoring one goal, which came in the Champions League. These numbers speak for themselves, especially keeping in mind that he is just 18 years old.
Apart from his natural position on the right flank, he can also operate on the left. Chelsea already have a number of players on both wings, so it will be interesting to see how the manager chooses to utilise him.
Nevertheless, the Blues seem to have developed a strong sense for identifying young talent, and Quenda looks like another signing with the potential to develop into a world-class player in the future. That said, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, as there is still a lot of development the player needs to undergo to sharpen his skills to be able to succeed at a club of Chelsea’s magnitude.