Chelsea are coming off the back of a nightmare season that saw them score just 38 goals in as many Premier League games, so new manager Mauricio Pochettino is desperate to revamp the attack. Christopher Nkunku was signed from RB Leipzig and Nicolas Jackson joined from Villarreal, but reports suggest the Blues aren’t done yet.
Kai Havertz was sold after scoring seven goals in 35 league games for Chelsea last season and Globo Esporte claims that Matheus França has been identified as his potential replacement.
The report claims that Chelsea have put forward a proposal to sign the Brazilian after holding talks with his agents in London. Flamengo are requesting €25m (£21m) for the 19-year-old’s signature, and the report says Chelsea’s offer satisfies their demands.
However, Chelsea face compeititon as Globo Esporte says Crystal Palace are also trying to sign Franca and have promised him first team football next season. Whereas at Chelsea, the plan is to initially loan him to Strasbourg.
Hot prospect for the future
França rose through the youth rank to Flamengo’s first-team in 2022 and has made 54 appearances in all competitions, scoring nine goals. He’s a regular at club level and has four years remaining on his deal, so the Rubro-Negro value him highly and hold all the cards in negotiations.
The 19-year-old is an attacking-midfielder with a great eye for goal, so he could improve Chelsea’s attack next season. But is França’s goal and assist record good enough for him to make an instant impact at Chelsea? He’s shown promise in Brazil but might be more of a long-term project if he came to West London.
Pochettino isn’t short of wide forwards with Nkunku, Raheem Sterling, Noni Madueke and Mykhaylo Mudryk at his disposal, but França prefers a central role behind the striker, so his inclusion would require a change of system.
The Blues have nine players in the senior squad who are 21 or younger which suggests there’s a pathway into the first-team for young talent, but they weren’t regulars last season and França would need to prove himself on loan before getting his chance in West London.
