Chelsea "have an interest" in Brazilian wonderkid Matheus Franca, with the youngster himself being "keen" on a move to Stamford Bridge, claims transfers expert Fabrizio Romano.
Chelsea transfer news – what's the latest on Matheus Franca
After securing the signatures of Villarreal forward Nicolas Jackson and 16-year-old prodigy Kendry Paez last month, the Blues seem to have turned their attention to another exciting youth prospect in Flamengo's Franca.
The 19-year-old has been courting the attention of some of Europe's biggest clubs over the last six months, with Newcastle United reportedly offering the Brazilian club €16m (£14m) for the player's signature, only to be told that he wouldn't be sold for anything less than £20m.
Around the same time, Spanish giants Real Madrid noticed the youngster's exploits and sent some scouts to the country to 'monitor him'.
However, this competition hasn't seemed to worry Chelsea, as they look to make contact with the Brazilian side later this week, to thrash out a deal and find a price all parties can agree upon, per Fabrizio Romano.
He explained the situation on his YouTube channel, saying:
"We can confirm that Chelsea have an interest in Matheus Franca, one of the best talents in Brazil, born in 2004. Newcastle had a bid rejected for €15m (£13m) plus add-ons, it was in January. Bayer Leverkusen and also many other clubs have always been following him, but now Chelsea are entering the race.
"Chelsea will have a direct contact club to club this week, so Chelsea will speak to Flamengo in the next days and they will try to reach an agreement. Flamengo want around €25m (£21m), Chelsea will offer something around €20m (£17m). The add-ons structure could be important and so keep an eye on Matheus Franca who is keen on the move to Chelsea."
Would Matheus Franca be a good signing for Chelsea?
Despite being a relative newcomer to senior football, making just 53 total appearances for Flamengo, Franca looks to be an unbelievable talent.
According to WhoScored, the prospect achieved an average rating of 6.62 across his career so far, finding the back of the net on nine occasions.
His underlying numbers also look promising, with FBref placing the young attacker in the top 2% for non-penalty goals, the top 4% for non-penalty expected goals, total shots and touches in the opposition's penalty area, and the top 10% for successful take-ons, all per 90 compared to players in his position within their definition of the 'next best eight' leagues in world football.
Talent scout Jacek Kulig identified the sought-after prospect two years ago when he was playing with the club's youth set-up and described him as a "great midfielder, great striker, he can play almost everywhere. One of the most exciting teenagers in Brazil at the moment."
There has been a recent trend of young talent coming straight from the Brazilian league and making an impact for Europe's elite teams, the two clearest examples being Gabriel Martinelli for Arsenal and Vinicius Junior for Real Madrid.
If Kulig is right in his assessment, and the player is "keen" on the move, it could be worth the extra money for Chelsea to get this deal done, as he certainly looks very promising.
