Pedro Lima won’t be joining Strasbourg this summer under Chelsea’s BlueCo ownership banner, with Wolves swooping to seal a shock 11th-hour deal for the Brazilian youngster instead.
The 17-year-old right-back had been expected to join the Patrick Vieira-managed Ligue 1 side Strasbourg, who fall under the Chelsea ownership umbrella, following weeks of protracted negotiations with current club Sport Recife.
However, the Brazilian outfit confirmed in an official statement on Monday evening that an agreement had now been reached with Wolves instead.
The release read: “Sport Club do Recife announces that it has signed a binding agreement to transfer the economic and federative rights of athlete Pedro Lima to Wolverhampton Wanderers, from England.
“The agreement is subject to customary conditions, including the athlete’s approval of medical examinations conducted by the English club.
“President Yuri Romao and the football management committee will detail the operation in a statement when all acts related to the business have been completed.”
David Ornstein of The Athletic reported that Lima had agreed an initial five-year contract with Wolves that contains the option of a further 12 months beyond that.
He is expected to arrive and complete a medical on July 1 before officially wrapping up a switch to Molineux.
Lima’s signing looks to be a huge coup for Wolves, who completed the capture of highly-rated Portuguese winger Rodrigo Gomes from Braga last week in a deal worth £12.7million.
Former England Under-21 midfielder Tommy Doyle will also join the club from Manchester City on a full-time basis next month after they activated their option in his initial loan deal to secure a permanent summer transfer.
There will be one top young Brazilian talent arriving at Chelsea this summer in the form of Estevao Willian, the exciting Palmeiras winger nicknamed ‘Little Messi’ who underwent medical checks in Brazil over the weekend ahead of completing an initial £29.5m move to Stamford Bridge that could eventually be worth more than £51m.
Chelsea have also signed promising youngsters such as Andrey Santos, Deivid Washington, Angelo Gabriel and Kendry Paez from South America in recent years.
The first senior signing of the new Enzo Maresca era this month was former Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo, the replacement for Thiago Silva. They are also still interested in Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran.
