See how it feels, Chelsea?
For a club who have done their fair share of hi-jacking over the years – snapping up the likes of John Obi Mikel and Willian when moves to Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur looked all-but completed – the tables have dramatically turned on a club who may now understand why Daniel Levy was so incensced.
When Brazilian starlet Pedro Lima told a reporter on Monday that his move away from Sport Recife was ‘almost done’, we assumed he was talking about Chelsea.
Perhaps he was. Chelsea, HITC understands, had agreed personal terms with the highly-rated right-back last week after all, a £6.5 million move to Stamford Bridge appearing imminent.
That was, however, until Wolverhampton Wanderers chucked their hat into the ring, Sport Recife confirming that an £8.5 million deal had been struck not with Chelsea but with another Premier League club.
Wolves snatch Pedro Lima under Chelsea’s nose
“Sport Club do Recife announces that it has entered into a binding agreement to transfer the economic and federative rights of the player Pedro Lima to Wolverhampton Wanderers,” reads an official statement posted on X.
“The agreement is subject to the usual conditions, including the player’s passing of medical examinations conducted by the English club. President Yuri Romao and the football management committee will detail the operation in a statement once all acts related to the deal have been concluded.”
Guilherme Falcao, a member of the Management Committee at Sport Recife, is now explaining how Lima’s impending switch to Molineux came about. It appears that Wolves were willing to accept the terms demanded by the Brazilian outfit, overtaking a Chelsea side who may now live to regret dragging things out.
“We already had the offer from Wolves. However, as we reached a turning point in the terms that Sport demanded from Chelsea, we started talking to Wolverhampton,” Falcao tells Itatiaia.
“It was a much simpler conversation, because they accepted the conditions we had established, both in terms of price and percentages of future sales.
“I won’t give any more details. But it was not a commercial condition that prevented the deal with Chelsea. There were some clauses within the contract that we should not admit.”
Sport Recife confirm agreement with Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolves will reportedly pay £8.5 million (Daily Mail). That is £2 million more than the fee Chelsea were reported to be offering, with the ‘spectacular’ Lima set to sign a five-year deal in the Midlands on July 1st.
“We have daily meetings about the market,” adds Falcao, via Globo Esporte. “We have our vision about the squad. I’m not going to say whether we want a right-back or not (to replace Pedro Lima).
“When the window opens, we will be there to carry out our intentions.”
Lima, we understand, was likely to be loaned out by Chelsea to their France-based sister club Strasbourg. That is despite the frustration felt by many supporters of the Alsace outfit about those Clearlake connections, fellow youngsters Angelo Gabriel and Andrey Santos struggling in Ligue 1 last term amid fury from the terraces.
It remains to be seen whether Lima, still only 17, will play a first-team role at Wolves immediately. He is the second rising star to join Gary O’Neil’s side this summer already, Rodrigo Gomes following in Pedro Neto’s footsteps when sealing a £12.7 million move to Molineux a few days ago.
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