Sporting CP has confirmed a full agreement with Chelsea for the permanent transfer of emerging talents Geovany Quenda and Dario Essugo.
In recent years, Chelsea has focused on signing young players with high potential for development, and 17-year-old Quenda is seen as one of the continent’s brightest prospects. However, acquiring such talent comes at a cost, with the total deal for both players worth up to €74.4m (£62.3m), including add-ons.
Quenda, who was heavily linked with Manchester United after making his breakthrough at Sporting under Ruben Amorim, is the more expensive of the two, with a fee of €52m (£43.6m). Most of that amount is guaranteed, with only minimal add-ons of €1.4m (£1.1m).
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Essugo, who is currently on loan at Las Palmas in La Liga, has a fixed transfer fee of €22.3m (£18.7m).
Both players will finish the current season with their respective teams. Quenda is expected to remain at Sporting for the 2025/26 season, while Essugo will join Chelsea in the summer.
Quenda, who was promoted to Sporting’s first-team squad this season after playing for their B team in Portugal’s third tier, initially played as a right wing-back in Amorim’s 3-4-3 system, helping the team win their first 11 Liga Portugal games. Following Amorim’s departure to Manchester United, Quenda has been deployed as a more conventional left winger, showcasing his versatility.
Essugo has been with Sporting since the age of nine, making a surprise first-team debut just after turning 16 in 2021, also under Amorim. He spent the next few years alternating between the B team and senior squad before spending the second half of the 2023/24 season on loan at Chaves. This season, he has started every La Liga game for Las Palmas since his debut in late September.
