Chelsea’s hijack of a deal for Sporting CP winger Geovany Quenda came as a “big shock” to Man Utd, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.
Reports emerged overnight that the Blues had beaten off competition from the Red Devils and other clubs around Europe for the 17-year-old.
Chelsea have reportedly agreed a deal to sign Quenda in a deal worth up to £40m in 2026 with the Portuguese youngster spending next season at Sporting.
After breaking into the first team at Sporting last season under Ruben Amorim, multiple reports expected Man Utd to make their interest in the youngster concrete in the summer.
However, the air-tight raid from Chelsea on Sporting was kept under wraps and Romano has revealed that the transfer has caught Man Utd by surprise.
Romano told GiveMeSport: “It was a big shock, to be honest, in the industry, not just for Man United, but also for more clubs interested in and following the player.
“They were not expecting Chelsea to be that fast. Okay, the interest could be a point, but there were zero leaks on this story and Chelsea have been very fast and very good also in keeping everything private.
“So it was a big shock [at Manchester United], that’s for sure.”
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And Caught Offside claim that Man Utd could now turn their attention to Southampton attacker Tyler Dibling with the Red Devils ‘among a long list of clubs eyeing up the potential €40m transfer’.
The report adds that the Saint wonderkid ‘is unhappy with life at Southampton and wants to leave this summer, putting a host of top clubs on alert’ and ‘Chelsea, Newcastle and West Ham have also shown an interest in Dibling’.
And Caught Offside continued:
‘It’s very hard to see Dibling staying at Southampton for much longer, with the club failing to persuade the player to even enter into negotiations over a new contract.
‘The talented teenager will likely be aware that he’s capable of playing at a far higher level than this, and it will be interesting to see where he ends up next.
‘United will understandably be keen to overhaul their squad this summer, and a top young attacking midfielder like this could be an ideal start for Ruben Amorim.’
Sky Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg recently revealed that ‘half of Europe is chasing the 18-year-old super talent from Southampton’, while confirming interest from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig in Dibling.
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