Chelsea beat Real Madrid to a verbal agreement to sign the Brazilian defender, but manager Fabrizio Romano admitted there are big developments to come.
Joining Real Madrid or Barcelona is often a big attraction for South American stars, and Real Madrid in particular have been phenomenal in signing Brazilian players recently, with Vinicius Junior and Rodrigo both moving directly from Brazil to the Bernabeu as teenagers.
With Real Madrid also set to add talented striker Endric to their squad this summer, many would have expected a deal to sign the on-the-ball Brazilian full-back to be a no-brainer.
Sport Recife's Pedro Lima will join the club's starting line-up at the start of 2024 and is one of Brazil's fastest-developing right-backs.
Real Madrid were keen to sign Lima but Chelsea prevailed over Carlo Ancelotti's side to complete the deal.
The news that Chelsea had agreed personal terms with Lima broke three days ago, as the Blues are on a mission to sign as many of the best South American talent as possible and Lima fits that bill perfectly.
The right-footer turns 18 next month and will be eligible for a move to Europe.
The initial expectation was that Lima would sign for Chelsea once an agreement between the clubs was finalised and then be loaned out for a season to sister club Strasbourg in France, the Ligue 1 side also owned by Brucos.
However, Romano's latest update suggests that Lima will in fact sign directly with Strasbourg, although it looks like he could end up starring at Stamford Bridge in the future.
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Pedro Lima transfer agreed, transfer fee revealed
Romano posted on X: “Chelsea have reached a verbal agreement to sign 2006-born Brazilian right-back Pedro Lima from Sport Recife. Let's get started!”
“Important detail: the transaction is routed through Strasbourg on Bruco's side.”
Regarding the transfer fee, Romano added: “It's a fixed fee of 7 million euros, plus 3.5 million euros of add-ons.”
Delegates from Lima are due to travel across the Atlantic to finalise the agreement.
Meanwhile, TEAMtalk reports that Chelsea are closing in on the signing of Aston Villa striker John Duran.
Negotiations between the two clubs are ongoing and if they go Villa's way, the final transfer fee could reach £40 million, excluding add-ons.
Duran has also attracted offers from Serie A clubs but the 20-year-old prioritises signing with Chelsea.
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