The Blues have also rolled out the red carpet for the Brazilian teenager’s family (Picture: Getty)
Chelsea have ramped up their charm offensive to sign Brazilian teenage sensation Endrick, inviting the wonderkid’s family to Cobham and enlisting the help of Thiago Silva.
The Blues are ‘pushing hard’ to land the 16-year-old Palmeiras starlet, who has netted three times in just six top-flight appearances – registering a goal or assist every 61 minutes – en route to winning the Brazilian title.
He has already been dubbed ‘the new Neymar’ in his homeland and looks set to be the next big Brazilian export, with a host of European clubs circling.
For some time Real Madrid had been considered the frontrunners for his signature – and have a well-established recruitment network in South America having signed the likes of Federico Valverde and Vinicius Junior as teenagers – while Paris Saint-Germain are also interested.
But The Times are reporting that it is Chelsea who are making the strongest push to sign Endrick and have already hosted the youngster’s family at their Cobham training ground.
Endrick’s family – and particularly his father, Douglas – will play a massive role in deciding which club the teenager picks and they recently visited west London as Chelsea rolled out the red carpet.
Intriguingly, the Blues also unleashed their secret weapon, introducing Thiago Silva to Endrick’s family while the player himself is also believed to have spent time with the Brazil captain.
Chelsea are hoping Thiago Silva can convince Endrick (Picture: Getty)
Silva is, of course, a legendary figure in Brazilian football and will skipper his nation at the World Cup later this month, with Chelsea hoping he can convince Endrick to snub Real and PSG and move to Stamford Bridge instead.
The Blues will also need to outline a clear pathway to the first-team for Endrick, with the player’s family keen to ensure his development is fast-tracked when he moves to Europe.
Any deal would likely be a significant long-term investment, with Palmeiras expected to demand as close to his €60million (£52.5m) release clause as possible.
Endrick cannot sign for a club until early 2023, while he would have to stay at Palmeiras for another year until he turns 18 and can move to Europe in 2024.
The teenager’s father, Douglas, recently played down suggestions that the forward had already agreed a move to Real Madrid and says he will evaluate all his offers in the coming weeks and months.
‘There’s nothing decided for Real Madrid or any other club. We’ve no preference yet,’ revealed Endrick’s dad.
‘We’ll decide in the next months, the club that will pay what Palmeiras want and show us the best technical project for Endrick, will sign the boy.’
MORE : Chelsea ‘pushing hard’ to sign €60m-rated 16-year-old Brazilian sensation Endrick
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The Blues have also rolled out the red carpet for the Brazilian teenager’s family.
