Chelsea complete double signing of Sporting Lisbon’s Geovany Quenda and Dario Essugo

Chelsea have completed a double signing of Sporting Lisbon’s young midfielders Geovany Quenda and Dario Essugo, with the pair moving to Stamford Bridge for a combined fee of over £62m.

Sporting Lisbon released a statement detailing the moves on Wednesday, with 17-year-old Quenda commanding a fee of up to £44m and Essugo to depart for £18.4m.

Quenda, who has broken into Sporting’s first team this season and made his debut in the Champions League in September, will remain with the Portuguese club until the end of the 2025-26 season. He had previously been linked with former manager Ruben Amorim at Manchester United.

20-year-old Essugo, a defensive midfielder, will join Chelsea this summer following the end of an impressive loan spell at La Liga side Las Palmas – albeit having picked up two red cards in his last four games. The Portuguese could join Chelsea in time to feature in this summer’s Club World Cup in the US.

Enzo Maresca’s side have already made a flurry of moves for young talent in the transfer window, signing highly-regarded 17-year-old Brazilian Estevao Willian from Palmeiras for up to £52m, and another teenager, 17-year-old Ecuadorian Kendry Paez, from Independiente del Valle. Paez was technically signed in 2023 at the age of 16, with the understanding that he would join the club after his 18th birthday this summer.