Andrey Santos appears to have prematurely confirmed the signing of Angelo Gabriel on social media. The 18-year-old winger has been heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge recently as Todd Boehly looks to line the Chelsea squad with some of the world's most exciting young players.
Gabriel, who sees his contract at the Estádio Urbano Caldeira expire in 2024, has featured 12 times for Santos in the Brazilian top-flight so far this season, directly contributing towards two goals. Despite having struggled at times, he's reportedly courted the interest of the Blues who hope to secure his signature in the coming days.
According to the Evening Standard, Chelsea are in advanced talks to sign the wonderkid in a deal worth around £15million. Gabriel has long been regarded as one of the top prospects in Brazil and the west Londoners will be hoping that he can follow in the footsteps of Neymar, who also earned his stripes at Santos.
If Chelsea can wrap up a deal for Gabriel, it remains to be seen whether he'll join the first-team, under-21s or new affiliate club Strasbourg. Nevertheless, Santos' latest message on social message suggests that his fellow countryman will join him under the BluesCo 22 Limited umbrella.
On Instagram, the 19-year-old midfielder posted an image of himself during Mauricio Pochettino's first training session at Cobham. In the comment section, Gabriel posted two blue emojis. With a blue heart emoji, Santos simply replied: "See you soon."
If Gabriel is to join Santos at Chelsea then the former Tottenham boss has already given him a taste of what to expect. Speaking to Chelsea's official website, the 51-year-old said: "For me, it is a pleasure and honour to now be involved with Chelsea Football Club.
"We are so excited, and I know Chelsea very well, it is one of the greatest clubs in the world. So of course, it was easy for us to make the decision to move here.
READ MORE: Chelsea news and transfers LIVE: Medical complete, Caicedo 'favourites', £80m demand, Mount heir
"We are so happy that today we can start here at Cobham in the training ground and meet the people and the staff. It is exciting for us and what we want is to bring the happiness again to this great football club. We will work hard, play in a way the fans can enjoy football, and the history of Chelsea is to win - but it is important also in the way we are going to build those victories.
"We are excited, so happy, and are very grateful to all the people. Of course, it starts with [chairman] Todd (Boehly), [co-controlling owners] Behdad (Eghbali), Jose (E. Feliciano), and after all the people really welcomed us today and a few days ago when we arrived for the first time at Cobham."
