Chelsea purchase Sporting pearls Quenda and Essugo in €73 million swoop | OneFootball

Borges unworried by potential squad breakup

Times have changed for Sporting Clube de Portugal. So often left trailing in the wake of Benfica and Porto in terms of winning trophies and benefiting from big-money transfers, the Lions seem to have caught up with their eternal rivals on both counts.

Currently top of the league and gunning for a second successive championship title for the first time in 70 years – and a third in five years – the Lisbon club yesterday completed the sale of teenage sensation Quenda and holding midfielder Dário Essugo to Chelsea for a combined fee of 73 million euros.

Meteoric rise

The main business involves Quenda, who the London club moved to tie down amid well-known interest from Manchester United coached by Rúben Amorim, the manager who made the 17-year-old a first-team regular.

Quenda is the only Sporting player who has featured in all 43 of the club’s games in 2024-25, showing a maturity beyond his years that has earned him regular call-ups to the full Portugal squad.

Born in Guinea-Bissau but living in Portugal since a young age, Quenda spent two years in Benfica’s kids’ academy before switching to city rivals Sporting when he was 13. Less than one full season as a first-team regular was enough to persuade Chelsea he was worth €51 million euros.

Quenda has not looked out of place in the Champions League, and despite the remarkable transfer fee, which makes him the most expensive ever footballer under 18, some pundits in Portugal insist Sporting should have demanded a higher price.

One more season in Lisbon

On the flip side, the deal involves Quenda remaining at Alvalade until the summer of 2026. Allowing the youngster to further develop in familiar surroundings appears a sensible move for all parties. Quenda will be 19 when he moves to the English capital.

Moreover, Portuguese sports newspaper A Bola reports that the transfer, which has not been officially announced by either club yet, involves several add-ons that could significantly increase the final fee paid.

Hot on the heels of Quenda’s sale, Chelsea have also reportedly completed the capture of midfielder Dário Essugo for €22 million euros. The 20-year-old has impressed for Las Palmas after Sporting loaned him to the La Liga club this season.

Essugo made the headlines back in March 2021 when he became Sporting’s youngest ever first-team player. Rúben Amorim brought him on for the closing minutes of a 1-0 victory over Vitória just one week after his sixteenth birthday. Essugo was overcome with emotion at the end of the match.

Essugo made a further 23 appearances for Sporting. He struggled to get into the team given that he was competing with footballers of the highest quality in his position, João Palhinha, Manuel Ugarte and Morten Hjulmand, leading to his loan to Las Palmas for whom he has played 17 times this season.

With star striker Viktor Gyökeres also set to be sold this summer, and big offers likely incoming for Hjulmand and centre-back pair Gonçalo Inácio and Ousmane Diomande, Sporting could face a squad rebuilding job in the close season, albeit backed by a healthy financial position, especially if they retain the Primeira Liga title and guarantee Champions League money on top of the transfer windfall.

“I’m focused on the here and now,” said coach Rui Borges yesterday when asked if he was worried about the current squad being broken up. “We’ll decide about next season in good time, calmly. I believe most of the squad will stay so I’m relaxed.”