Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Chelsea scouts watched Brazilian midfielder Luis Guilherme for Palmeiras in their recent match against Boca Juniors.
Luis Guilherme came on with 12 minutes remaining of the Copa Libertadores semi-final, but it went to extra time, so they got another half an hour on top to assess him. Ultimately, his side lost via a penalty shootout to set up a final against Fluminense next month.
The future appears to be bright for the 17-year-old, so much so that he could earn a transfer to Europe at some stage in the not-too-distant future. Recently, Romano confirmed Man Utd have been tracking him, as well as his compatriot Lorran of Flamengo.
In an update, Romano has added that Chelsea deployed representatives to watch Luis Guilherme in action when Palmeiras hosted Boca Juniors on Friday.
However, they were not alone, since there were a total of five European clubs in attendance. One of the other four was Bayern Munich, although the identities of the remaining three have not been shared yet by Romano.
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Chelsea are yet to make a bid for Luis Guilherme, but will continue to monitor his development before deciding whether to make him the latest addition to their recruitment drive.
This year alone, Chelsea have invested in youthful Brazilian talents for the future such as Andrey Santos, Angelo Gabriel and Deivid Washington.
Not all of the players they have welcomed are being integrated into their own first team straight away. Santos is on loan at Nottingham Forest and Angelo has been sent to sister club Strasbourg for the season.
In the future, though, Chelsea will be hoping their scouting network’s eyes for talent could benefit them before players get snapped up by other suitors and become even more costly.
What kind of player is Luis Guilherme?
Luis Guilherme has already played 23 times at senior level for Palmeiras and has caught the attention of the selectors for the Brazil under-20 national team, which suggests he is progressing ahead of schedule.
He is mainly an attacking midfielder, but can also play on the right wing. Over time, he will likely refine his game and try to make one of those roles his own for whichever club he is representing.
His contract with Palmeiras is due to last until June 2025. He will turn 18 in February, which may be when talk of a transfer starts to gather more pace.
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