Chelsea fans have taken to social media to vent their frustrations after the club completed the signings of Geovany Quenda, and Dário Essugo from Sporting Lisbon for a combined fee of €74m.
Sporting Lisbon announced the deals late on Wednesday, confirming 17-year-old winger Quenda would join the Blues for just under £44 million and Essugo for £18.5 million.
Quenda is a highly-rated winger in the Portuguese League with impressive performances for Sporting Lisbon with 10 goals involvements in 44 games this campaign.
The teenager has broken into Sporting’s first team this season and made his Champions League debut in September.
At just 17 years and 95 days, the Portugal Under-21 international became the club’s youngest ever goalscorer with his strike in a 4-3 defeat by Porto.
Quenda is part of the Portuguese team for the Nations League clash against Denmark.
Essugo is a 20-year-old defensive midfielder, who has impressed on loan at Las Palmas.
The signings continue Chelsea’s policy of signing young talent – Brazilian forward Estevao Willian and Ecuadorian Kendry Paez are expected to join the club in the summer.
Chelsea supporters are not happy with the signings, citing the club’s failure to sign established players instead of splashing money on young, untested players while the first team is crying out for established stars.
Mercado took to X to slam the club for splashing such an amount of money on teenagers while failing to agree a deal for Michael Olise, and Victor Osimhen in the summer.
He wrote: “We’re willing to spend €74m on young players who may not even start for Chelsea, but we couldn’t meet the salary demands of Olise or Osimhen last summer. This club is managed so efficiently”
CFB Blues could not hide his disappointment as the club spent such an amount of money on two unknown players without addressing the first team’s needs.
He wrote on X: Silly money for unproven kids. Then they have to sell first team players to raise funds for the areas they actually need. Crazy way to run a club.€74m spent on children when the club desperately needs to address its spine (GK, CB and an ST).”
Kweku described the signings as unnecessary, while advising the club on where to focus in the first team.
He wrote on X: Unnecessary signings although both players are good, this money could finance a good striker for the team and another 50 million for two kids to be signed soon can sign a solid defender, and offload Sanchez, Jorgensen then find one suitable goalkeeper for a cheap price.”