Chelsea sign 18 year old winger who can play for Belgium or Portugal | OneFootball

Chelsea have today confirmed the free transfer signing of Diego Moreira from Benfica.

The 18 year old was in demand across Europe, but Chelsea’s voracious desire to hoover up every teenage talent around has won them the race.

He will join a host of other young players signed in the last 12 months to strengthen the youth teams and potentially our new affiliate club Strasbourg too.

Moreira was born in Belgium where he started his youth career with Standard Liege before moving to Portugal. He regularly played for Benfica B last season in the Portuguese second division, meaning he has plenty of senior experience.

He made his first team debut in May 2022, but didn’t get a chance to repeat that in this campaign, mainly because the Eagles knew he was going to depart at the end of the campaign.

A tricky winger who has been a regular star in the UEFA Youth League, it will be very interesting to see what the club have planned for Moreira in the short term and the long term. There has been the sense in Portugal that he’s lost his focus a little in the last 12 months, and he will need to find it again if he wants to thrive in the competitive environment we’re building at Cobham.