Chelsea are close to signing Benfica wonderkid Diego Moreira on a free transfer, according to reports in Portugal. The talented teenager is one of the most exciting young prospects in Europe after his impressive performances for As Aguias' academy.
Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan have both monitored the 18-year-old's situation at Benfica, but Record have claimed the Blues have fended off interest from the European giants for his signature.
The deal would be the second in the space of six months involving Chelsea and Benfica after Todd Boehly spent over £106million on Enzo Fernandez in the January transfer window.
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With Chelsea's 2022/23 season more or less over after their Champions League exit, focus is now solely on the summer transfer window. The west Londoners are expected to be busy with incomings and outgoings at the end of the season, with the next permanent boss set to be greeted with an overhaul of the 33-man squad.
However, not many would have called the first signing of the summer being an unknown, risk-free transfer like Moreira. The winger is set to be part of the Blues' Under-23s side next season, with hope of him breaking into the first-team in years to come.
But why do Chelsea want him? football.london takes a look at the Portugal Under-18 international's career to-date and why he's being signed.
Moreira is the son of former Hamburger SV and Partizan midfielder Almani Moreira and was born in Liege, Belgium during his father's stint with Standard de Liege. After starting his youth career with Standard, Moreira was denied a move to Lierse Kempenzonen by the Appeal Disputes Committee of the Belgian Football Union due to the 'thousand kilometres of travel per week' deemed not ideal for a teenager.
A year later, he eventually sealed a move out of Belgium, joining Benfica's prestigious academy in August 2020 after going a whole year without playing football. In his first season in Portugal, Moreira only featured six times, but it was the 2021/22 campaign where he started to make a name for himself.
In the UEFA Youth League, Moreira played in all 10 games as Benfica surpassed Barcelona, Sporting CP and Juventus before lifting the trophy with a 6-0 win over Red Bull Salzburg. The winger scored four goals and assisted a further five in the competition to help the club win their first Youth League title.
In the same season, Moreira made his professional debut for Benfica B in a 2-1 loss to rivals Porto B in January 2022, before being handed his debut for Benfica in May 2022 by interim manager Nelson Verissimo.
This season, the left-footed winger came off the bench to help Benfica defeat Danish side FC Midtjylland 3-1 in the Champions League third-round qualifier.
Compared to former Manchester United and Portugal wideman Nani, Moreiras has an array of choices at the international stage. A dual citizen of Belgium and Portugal, the winger is also eligible to represent Guinea-Bissau and Germany.
He's spent most of his youth career with Portugal, though he did make two appearances for the Belgium Under-15s in 2019. Moreira has since been a regular in Portugal's youth set-up, making 12 appearances for the Under-16s - with his debut coming at only 14 - and 12 caps for the Under-19s.
Some will be second-guessing Moreira's arrival due to the number of options in the attacking areas at Chelsea. Noni Madueke and Mykhailo Mudryk arrived in January, with Raheem Sterling, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech all filling the position.
However, at only 18, Moreira will likely spend a fair few years edging closer to his potential at Cobham with Mark Robinson's Under-21s and Ed Brand's Under-18s should a move be completed.
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