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FourFourTwo
FourFourTwo
Sport
Isaac Stacey Stronge

Chelsea want Brazilian star dubbed 'the next Neymar': report

LIMEIRA, BRAZIL - FEBRUARY 23: Neymar of Santos reacts during a Campeonato Paulista match between Inter de Limeira and Santos at Major Levy Sobrinho Stadium on February 23, 2025 in Limeira, Brazil. (Photo by Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images).

Chelsea have blown the minds of the footballing world over the past few seasons in the transfer market.

Window after window, they’ve dropped so much money on so many players that you’d forgive manager Enzo Maresca for not immediately putting a name to every face as he walks around Cobham Training Ground.

But they’re still not done. They’ve been linked with another teenage wonderkid from South America, who’s already drawing comparisons with Neymar.

Chelsea in for teenage star from Gremio

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is never short of a new name to learn (Image credit: Getty Images)

Just last season, the Blues splashed out on multimillion-pound deals for Santos pair Deivid Washington and Angelo.

The former is back on loan to his youth side, with the latter now pitching up alongside Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr. It doesn’t always work out, then, but Chelsea are undeterred.

Teenage star Gabriel Mec has caught the attention of Chelsea (Image credit: Alamy)

According to TBR Football, the west London club are trying to sign Gremio attacking midfielder Gabriel Mec.

Still just 16 years old, Mec is already part of the first-team setup at the Brazilian side and has drawn comparisons with the wickedly skilful Neymar.

Chelsea reportedly held talks with Gremio over Mec’s availability as early as last summer and, although a deal was not agreed then, talks remained open.

It’s believed any move the Premier League side do manage to agree would see the teenager arrive in London in 2026, by which time he would be 18.

Deivid Washington knows just how tricky the Brazil-to-Chelsea pathway can be to make work (Image credit: Gaspafotos/MB Media/Getty Images)

In FourFourTwo’s opinion, knowing which young signings will do what at Chelsea is as easy to predict as picking the winning number on a roulette table.

That Mec - who hasn't been valued by Transfermarkt yet - is playing senior football at such a young age is notable, but the Premier League will be an entirely different kettle of fish – and that’s if he can muscle in past the dozens of players already on Chelsea’s books.

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