Chelsea to add £71m player to Enzo Maresca's squad after striking transfer agreement

Chelsea are set to bolster Enzo Maresca's squad in the summer with the addition of a player who is already worth £71m, despite the Blues agreeing a deal for a fraction of the price.

Chelsea continue to dominate the transfer window agenda, with the Blues making sure they can keep the moves flowing in and out of the club. The recruitment team have worked hard to plan out the path ahead, with plenty of young players signed to carve out a future at Stamford Bridge.

Some will make it and stay, such as Cole Palmer, who has made quite an impression since his move from Manchester City, while others won't and will move on. The January transfer window offers another chance for Chelsea to invest, but there is also an eye towards the summer.

It remains to be seen just how much the manager will be backed, but the planning ahead has already seen one deal lined up. Chelsea have already struck an agreement to sign Geovany Quenda from Sporting CP for a fee worth £40m, with the 18-year-old set to move to west London next summer.

The agreement has seen the club move ahead of their rivals to land the winger, who has been tipped for big things in the future. While it may be seen as a big initial fee for someone so young, who is only in his second year of professional football, the transfer valuations say otherwise.

According to CIES Football Observatory, Quenda is already worth in the region of €70-81m (£61-71m), which is almost double what was paid for him already. The left-footed right-winger has already shown glimpses of his quality, with eight goals and 16 assists for Sporting since making his breakthrough.

The youngster became the youngest-ever player to score in Liga Portugal, beating Cristiano Ronaldo's record, while he was also the youngest to ever start and score in the Champions League for Sporting in their long history. All the signs point towards building on that quality.

football.london understands the club have communicated with Quenda that he will be part of Enzo Maresca's first-team plans next season, despite rumours surrounding a loan switch elsewhere. For now, however, attention is firmly set on what he will be able to do this season in Portugal.

Sporting sit second in the league, with two points separating them and first-placed Porto - who have a game in hand. There is plenty of football left to play, and Quenda will be keen to end his spell with Sporting in the right way, before he makes the move to Chelsea in the summer.

Unfortunately, for now, it seems as though he will be set for a spell on the sidelines. Record in Portugal reports that the 18-year-old has picked up a foot injury, which is set to keep him out of action for roughly two months.

Reports of a fracture in his right foot means that an absence until February is likely, while the full extent of the injury is still being discovered. It's a setback, certainly ruling out any possibility of an early move in the January transfer window, however unlikely that may have seemed.

It remains to be seen how Quenda will bounce back from that injury issue, and whether he can perform to the heights that his £71m valuation is now set at.