Despite the fact that many things are going on at Chelsea Football Club. Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali want to continue planning for the club. As a result, Diego Moreira is on the verge of joining the Blues family.
According to several reports, the West London club are close to getting the 18-year-old Portuguese’s signature from Benfica.
Moreira will join Chelsea in the Premier League on a free transfer at the end of the season (July). The deal is reportedly in its final stages.
Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali believe the Portuguese youngster is full of potential. And they want to keep building for the future, gathering reinforcements.
Diego is currently out of contract at Benfica, which is why he will join the West London club for free in July. He will participate in the preseason with the Blues.
Chelsea are convinced that Moreira will be worth more than £25 million or £30 million in the few years to come, as regards his potential and physicality on the ball.
Even though they are going to sign him on a free transfer from Benfica. The West London club are expected to pay a small training compensation fee.
Surprisingly, Chelsea beat the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool, and AC Milan to get his signature. They keep building around the project.
Benfica were reportedly devastated to lose the 18-year-old Portuguese. He’s really a player with a high ceiling, which means he has the ability to make waves in the future.
It’s confirmed that top clubs in Italy, France, and Portugal were all interested in him. However, Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali were faster to sign him.
Paris Saint-Germain reportedly tracked Diego for many years. Unfortunately, they later lose him to the West London club, as the Blues keep gathering reinforcements.
Young talents Chelsea may sign next season
- Kendry Páez
- Dujuan Whisper Richards
- Diego Moreira
- Roméo Lavia
Even though the West London club are going to offload many players in the next summer transfer window. They would want to sign more players.
The Blues moved massively during the previous January transfer window. Nevertheless, they are expected to welcome one or two new signings.
In all fairness, Chelsea future is bright and colorful, they have young talents like David Datro Fofana, Gabriel Slonina, Malo Gusto, and the rest.
Diego Moreira stats in the UEFA Youth League
15 games
5 goals
6 assists
11 goal contributions
Goal in every 110 minutes
Apparently, the 18-year-old is one of the brilliant and talented youngsters who will make headlines in the future. The Blues are fortunate once again.
Who is Diego Moreira
He’s a Portuguese player, who started his young career at Standard Liège. However, he joined Benfica in August 2020, so as to be close to his father.
The 18-year-old player helped Benfica’s massively during the UEFA Youth League in the 2021-2022 campaign. That was when many European clubs began to notice him.
Moreira netted a brace (2 goals) and registered two assists against Sporting CP Youth in the quarterfinals of the competition.
Interestingly, he provided another two assists in their 6-0 victory over Salzburg. As a result, he single-handedly helped Benfica win their first Youth League title since 1961-1962.
Meanwhile, Diego was promoted to Benfica’s first team after his breakthrough with the youth squad, which was under Nélson VerÃssimo.
In May 2022, he made his senior debut for the club, which ended in a 2-0 victory over Paços de Ferreira in the league. Just one appearance for the senior team.
At international level, he has represented Belgium U15, Portugal U16 and Portugal U18. Surprisingly, he’s also eligible to play for Germany and Guinea-Bissau.
Diego Moreira strengths and weaknesses
The 18-year-old Portuguese biggest strength lies in his ability to accelerate. He usually puts his pace into action in a 1v1 situation, causing havoc inside the opponent’s box.
Moreira is very dangerous on counterattacks because he can use his acceleration to beat down the opposition’s players. He’s really merciless when attacking.
The Portugal international is technical, he’s the kind of player who likes to display stunts, flicks, and the rest. He enjoys showing off his techniques on the pitch.
Diego has ball control as one of his biggest attributes. His ball control is on a different level, despite the fact that he’s just 18-year-old.
Of course, Moreira is learning from some Portuguese players. Therefore, he doesn’t lose ball possession easily, always wants to fight for the ball.
The player’s ball-control ability allows him to control long passes or balls. He’s not the kind of attacker who loses ball possession.
Diego is a great dribbler, his dribbling prowess always makes way for him on the pitch. He has the ability to attack from both flanks of the field.
During the UEFA Youth League, his dribbling skills announced him at Benfica. He’s a beast when it comes to 1v1 situations, always a nightmare for the opponents.
Despite being just 18-year-old, Moreira is very strong on the ball. He always relies on his physicality and agility, that’s why he doesn’t lose ball possession.
As an attacker, the Portuguese international is very sound defensively. He does track back to balance the team’s defensive performance.
He usually makes tackles, interceptions, and clearances on the pitch. His defensive contribution always makes him unstoppable, both offensively and defensively.
Weaknesses
Diego Moreira doesn’t really have any significant shortcomings, despite the fact that he’s just 18-year-old. That makes him valuable to the squad.
Despite the fact that he’s good at close ball control, the Portuguese youngster is usually overambitious with dribbling. That’s his biggest weakness.
He likes to beat down three or four opponents players at the same time. However, his overambitious does lead him to lose ball possession.
His dribbling prowess is so flawless that, he can single-handedly handle the ball from his own half to the opponent’s territory.
Nevertheless, he can actually improve on that. Because he has many brilliant and experienced attackers around him at Chelsea when he joins them in July.
What’s Diego Moreira’s position?Â
The 18-year-old Portuguese plays as a winger, he’s a Leroy Sané type of player. He’s not really versatile like that, he attacks flawlessly as a winger.
Having been left-footed, he loves to attack from the right-wing. Obviously, the West London club are obviously planning to reinforce their attack.
Moreira moves and beats down opponents players like Leroy Sané. He’s very dangerous around the opposition’s box, making him a dangerous attacker.
Diego Moreira style of play
The Portuguese youngster likes to dribble and cross, he always relies on his left foot. He often uses feints and stepovers to beat down the opposition’s players.
Moreira is a somewhat flamboyant winger, which means he’s good on both flanks. He can comfortably operate from the left and right wings.
Diego likes to run straight at defenders with his pace and acceleration. He’s not the kind of winger, who fears defenders before he can make a move.
Despite the fact that he’s balanced defensively. He’s capable of pushing his teammates forward, so as to be able to find positions offensively.
Having been left-footed, Moreira is very comfortable with the ball at his feet. Surprisingly, he also operates better with his weaker foot (right).
At the same time, Diego is dangerous in 1v1 situations. His dribbling skills make him beat down opponents players. His pace always makes him unstoppable.
Like I said, Diego is extremely dangerous in counterattacks, mainly because of his pace and acceleration. He’s capable of moving fast with the ball.
The Portuguese youngster is best suited in the 4-3-3 formation, which allows him to find space on the pitch. He never struggles to find space.
Just like Hakim Ziyech, Moreira does operate flawlessly with the 4-at-the-back setup. Because he needs space to make himself a threat.
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