Chelsea ‘reach agreement’ with Gremio to sign Gabriel Mec – but Brazilian wonderkid can’t join for TWO YEARS
CHELSEA have reached an agreement to sign Gabriel Mec, according to reports.
The Blues sent chiefs to Brazil for talks with the Gremio youngster last week.
And they have been able to strike a deal for a rumoured fee of £20.5million.
Mec, 16, is set to undergo a medical in his homeland in the next few days, claim outlet Globo.
And he will then put pen to paper on a five-year deal.
However, the wonderkid will have to stay at Gremio until April 2026 as youngsters are banned from securing a transfer away from Brazil until they turn 18-years-old.
Mec, who is an attacking midfielder, is yet to make an appearance in senior football.
But he has been highly-rated for a number of years, with Gremio wanting to add a £136.8m release clause to his contract.
However, they were unable to do so and the club were reportedly worried about losing him for free.
Instead, he did agree to an image licensing and exploitation deal – similar to one that Neymar was given at Santos as a youngster.
Mec is one of several South American wonderkids to commit their future to Chelsea.
The club have already confirmed the £50m signing of Estevao Willian from Palmeiras.
And last summer, Chelsea signed Kendry Paez for £17m from Independiente del Valle.
Both 17-year-olds will move to Stamford Bridge next year.