The Portuguese ace has joined Geovany Quenda in pledging his future to the Blues, and is already being lined up for a key role under Enzo MarescaTodd Boehly and Clearlake Capital are at it again! Chelsea’s ambitious owners have invested well over £1 billion in strengthening the first-team squad since their arrival in 2022, with the scouting department working tirelessly to identify and capture potential superstars from across the globe.Tangible success has yet to materialise, but the Blues have had no trouble getting promising youngsters to buy into their long-term project by offering incentive-based contracts that provide security their rivals cannot. Geovany Quenda and Dario Essugo are the latest pair to take on the challenge, having made a name for themselves with Sporting CP.Chelsea have snapped up the Portuguese duo for a combined fee of £62 million ($803m) after reaching an agreement with Sporting that will see Essugo move to Stamford Bridge in the summer before Quenda follows at the end of the 2025-26 season. But one of them has been generating far more hype than the other.Quenda broke into Sporting’s senior team under current Manchester United coach Ruben Amorim, and has quickly established himself as a key player at just 17, drawing comparisons with a certain Cristiano Ronaldo. The talented young winger has already been called up to the Portugal squad, too, which explains why he accounts for £42m ($18m) of Chelsea’s outlay.In stark contrast, 20-year-old Essugo is leaving Sporting with only 25 appearances under his belt across the last four years. He’s very much the B-side in this double deal, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be a big asset for Chelsea. In fact, Essugo could end up being one of the bargains of the century at £18m ($23m) – and GOAL is on hand to explain why…
