Why Vinicius Junior would be an excellent long-term signing for Chelsea
According to claims from Spanish outlet, El Desmarque, as cited by The Sun, Chelsea have been credited with an interest in Real Madrid starlet Vinicius Junior, with Frank Lampard eager to splash the cash to bolster his squad during the mid-season trading period in January.
The 19-year-old joined Real Madrid for a fee of £38.7 million back in 2017, with the deal effective from the summer of 2018 after his 18th birthday.
Junior’s big-money move to the Santiago Bernabeu from Brazilian club Flamengo made him one of the most expensive teenagers in the game but he has found it difficult to settle down in his new surroundings.
Despite largely featuring as a substitute in his debut season in Spain, Vinicius finished the 2018-19 campaign with an impressive tally of 4 goals and 12 assists in 31 appearances. However, the Brazilian prodigy has found regular minutes hard to come by in the La Liga under Zinedine Zidane, who has handed the teenager only 5 league starts so far.
Vinicius, who made his senior international debut for Brazil earlier in the year back in September, has a contract at Real Madrid until the summer of 2025. However, with Premier League interest in his services surfacing ahead of the January window, a change could well be on the cards for the highly-rated teenager.
Chelsea, though, aren’t alone in their pursuit of Vinicius Junior, who has also emerged as a transfer target for Man United, Arsenal and Tottenham. (El Desmarque h/t Sun)
To put things into perspective, Vinicius Junior continues to be one of the hottest teenage prospects in Europe, despite his limited involvement at Real Madrid. Chelsea are well within their rights to identify him as the heir apparent to the throne of Eden Hazard, who departed Stamford Bridge to join the Los Blancos earlier in the year.
Lampard was not allowed to make any new signings this past summer due to the transfer embargo but with Chelsea now given the green light by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to go ahead with their transfer business in January, the manager has been handed a massive kitty of £150 million to try and reshape the squad to his liking. (h/t Daily Mail)
While bringing in defensive reinforcements to shore up a leaky backline should be a priority for Chelsea in January, it wouldn’t be a big surprise if the Blues opt to bolster their attack as well.
To that end, a back-up to impressive academy graduate Tammy Abraham could certainly fit the bill while Lampard will surely need to have an eye on some wide attacking players in the market, with the long-serving veteran duo of Pedro and Willian out of contract in the summer of 2020.
Christian Pulisic has played a key role this season with Callum Hudson-Odoi also very much in the mix. However, Chelsea will need to find alternatives to the likes of Willian and Pedro sooner rather than later and a top-quality youngster like Vinicius Junior certainly ticks all the boxes to come through the door as a marquee signing for the Blues.
Verdict
It is a no-brainer that the 19-year-old still has plenty of room for development and while he has somewhat struggled for regular involvement at Madrid, there have been obvious signs to suggest that Vinicius is, indeed, a world-class talent capable of taking any top league in Europe by storm in the years to come.
Primarily a right-footed creative player, Vinicius is usually deployed as an inverted winger down the left but he has illustrated the versatility to play out wide on the other side of the pitch and also through the centre as a supporting striker.
With that in mind, it is easy to see why and how he could possibly be the right player to take over the club’s attacking responsibilities from the likes of Willian, Pedro and Hazard.
Pulisic has already made significant strides towards fulfilling his potential in the Premier League and the arrival of Vinicius will undoubtedly make Chelsea a potent attacking unit for several years to come.
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That said, Chelsea beating off competition from their PL rivals in the race to sign Vinicius Junior could be an incredible piece of business and one that spells the start of a new era of dominance.
