Chelsea leading Barcelona in race for €60 million Brazilian teenage sensation

Barcelona have made it an absolute point to try and make an effort to bring in the best young talents coming through in Brazil.

And the La Liga champions have their eyes fixed on Palmeiras wonderkid Estevao Willian – one of the most talented and gifted young players touted for a bright future in the game.

Just 16 years old, the teenage sensation is already one of the most sought-after young talents in football, with a plethora of top European clubs gunning for his signing.

Barcelona, for their part, are also very much in the hunt to sign Estevao, but competition for the teenager is growing, with Chelsea, in particular, emerging as strong contenders.

Chelsea leading race for Estevao

Indeed, as per an exclusive report from Caught Offside, Chelsea are currently leading Barcelona in the race to sign Estevao from Palmeiras.

It had been previously reported that Estevao, also known as Messinho, has a €60 million release clause in his contract, which Chelsea are willing to trigger, giving them an edge.

Even though the player dreams of joining Barcelona, talks are advancing between Chelsea and Palmeiras, with negotiations progressing over the structure of payment to the Brazilian outfit, with his release clause being kept as the baseline.

This could be a major blow for Barça who, despite wanting to sign Estevao, would not be in a position to shell out a big sum for him.

Given that he is still not 18, Estevao would only arrive in Europe, but the Catalans have more immediate concerns to address in the squad, like the need for a world-class pivot midfielder.

With Chelsea pushing ahead, there may be chances of Barcelona ending up missing out on Messinho, even though the player’s wishes are to end up in Catalonia.