It has been in the news for weeks now; the deal that Chelsea and their French sister club Strasbourg have for Pedro Lima, the 17-year-old right-back who plays for Brazilian Serie B club Sport Club do Recife.
According to the reports, BlueCo, who owns both Chelsea and Strasbourg, had an agreement in principle with the player and the club to bring him to Europe via Strasbourg to Chelsea once he turns 18. Things seemed to be progressing smoothly until another party, Wolverhampton Wanderers, swooped in and bagged the youngster.
This is an unlikely event which has not only shocked the football world but shocked Chelsea, who themselves have hijacked many a deal in the past.
The Blues believed they had found another interesting young Brazilian after swooping in to hijack Estêvão Willian’s signing from Barcelona by paying a whopping €65 million for the 17-year-old.
The Palmeiras youngster who is referred to as “Messinho” which means “little Messi” in Brazil, is slated to join Chelsea when he turns 18 in 2025, just like Kendry Paez and now formerly, Pedro Lima.
All was set for the Sport Recife defender to join these other youngsters at Stamford Bridge until Wolves came in with an offer both teams could not refuse. Lima will now sign for five years with Wolves with a clause that allows him to trigger a one-year extension.
A statement by the club on Lima’s transfer to Wolves reads: “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.”
Chelsea are now reportedly looking to sign a player from Wolves, Wes Okoduwa, to replace Lima.
Okoduwa made Wolves’ bench on several occasions last season, showing the kind of quality that he has. The Blues may be pursuing this signing to get back at the Old Gold for hijacking their deal for Pedro Lima, but it only means that both clubs will find satisfaction in filling their ight-back slots.
Okoduwa is 16 and will move straight into Chelsea’s U-18 squad but will have a shot at first-team football as was the plan for Lima.
