CHELSEA’S South American scouting machine is firing on all cylinders once again.
With Estevao, the latest product of a long list of Sudamericana stars settling into life in London, the Blues scouts are on the hunt for their next gem – only this time they have more competition.
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That’s because after completing deals for Moises Caicedo and Kendry Paez, the Blues are looking to get ahead of the curve again as they did with Paez in the race to sign £14m-rated 15-year-old Deinner Ordonez.
However, it won’t be as straightforward as Paez, now on loan at sister club Strasbourg, was.
His performances have already caught the eye of scouts at Liverpool, as well as clubs across Europe, according to the Daily Mail.
Most notably, he shone at the South American u20 Championships earlier this year, where he became the youngest player in a decade to appear in the tournament, with four caps for Ecuador‘s u20 team already.
The young centre-half is already over 6ft tall, loves to impose himself on attackers, is right-footed, and excellent on the ball for a defender of his age, despite mostly playing as a left centre back – similarly to Arsenal‘s new boy, Piero Hincapie.
Independiente Del Valle has become a goldmine of talent in recent years, with Caicedo, Paez and Hincapie already going on to feature in Europe having started off at the club, as well as PSG’s Willian Pacho.
It’s anticipated that Chelsea would look to structure a deal similarly to the one they did for Paez, with the attacking midfielder agreeing to join the Blues, but allowed to flourish in his native country until he turned 18.
Chelsea may be able to offer a more unique proposal to the defender, with the draw of already having two Ecuadorian stars in their ranks.
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‘The next Hincapie’ however, isn’t the only South American on the Reds’ radar, as they’re also eyeing up a move for ex-Man City winger Robinho’s son.
The 17-year-old is a forward for Santos in Brazil, named Robinho Junior, and joined the side his father made his name at aged 14.
He has scored four goals for the Santos u20 team, and after making three appearances for the senior side, is yet to grab a goal or assist, though in total he has only played 52 minutes of football.
Robinho became an infamous figure in England after his move to Manchester City in 2008.
The Brazilian failed to consistently impress at the Etihad and left two years later.
In March 2024, he was began a nine-year prison sentence in Brazil.
His punishment came for being one of six men convicted of sexually assaulting an Albanian woman in a club while he was at AC Milan.
Timeline of Robinho’s rape case
The rape case involving Brazilian footballer Robinho spans several years. Here’s a brief timeline:
- January 22, 2013: Robinho was one of a group of six men convicted of sexually assaulting an Albanian woman in a club during his stint for AC Milan.
- 2014: Brazilian media reported on the allegations against Robinho, but no formal charges were filed at that time.
- 2017: Robinho was found guilty of sexual assault by an Italian court and sentenced to nine years in prison. However, he denied the charges and appealed the verdict.
- 2020: After the appeal process, Robinho’s sentence was upheld by the Italian court. But due to the statute of limitations in Italy, he was not extradited to serve his sentence.
- 2022: Robinho’s prison sentence is ratified.
- March 2023: Robinho surrendered his passport to authorities
- November 2023: Italian prosecutors said they felt Robinho should serve his time in Brazil.
- March 20, 2024: Brazil’s Superior Court formed a simple majority and voted for Robinho to serve the sentence in his home country.
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