Chelsea were leading the race to sign Brazilian wonderkid Endrick before Todd Bohely pulled the plug.
The 17-year-old striker is the next big thing in Brazil, scoring 14 goals on his way to securing a second league title with Palmeiras last week. He will join Real Madrid at the end of this season after Los Blancos forked out £52million for him in December 2022.
But Chelsea had in fact agreed a deal for him a month earlier. The Blues invited a 16-year-old Endrick to their Cobham training ground in November 2022, winning over the player and his parents.
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West London ended up becoming the preferred destination for the teenage phenomenon. But the Stamford Bridge side missed out after owner Boehly pulled out of the deal because he reportedly did not want to inflate the market.
Endrick’s father, Douglas Sousa, told The Guardian: “I have to admit I do not like the cold but my wife and Endrick do. Endrick really likes playing in the rain. We received an invitation from Chelsea, from the owner, and we went there to see the club and the country.
“They explained everything to us. They introduced us to the person who would help us settle in. She showed us the house we would live in, the school Endrick would go to, the church we would attend. Everything was right with us and Chelsea.
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“I can’t say 100% because I hadn’t signed, but the deal was agreed. I had already got it into my head that I would live in London with all that cold weather.
“But then at night, my son’s manager phoned and said that the Chelsea owner had backed out of the deal because the price they would have to pay for Endrick would inflate the market.
“It was €60m [£51.4m] for a 16-year-old boy who would only arrive in the country almost two years later.”
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Endrick himself added: “I was very close [to joining Chelsea]. My parents really liked London and everyone speaks very highly of it.”
It may come as a huge surprise to Premier League fans, who have seen Chelsea splash an eye-watering figure north of £1billion on players since Boehly’s takeover in 2022. Despite turning down Endrick, they went on to splurge £434.5m on new players just months later in the summer of 2023 – the most by any club during the transfer window in Premier League history.
Chelsea’s wild spending has not paid off, however, with many of their signings failing to hit the mark. Mauricio Pochettino’s side are currently way down in 12th place despite bringing in a whopping 17 players.
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