Chelsea snatch Lille's Gabriel from under league rivals' noses | OneFootball

Chelsea appear to have pipped Wolves and Everton to the signing of Lille defender Gabriel Magalhaes.

Wolves have been linked with the 22-year-old since back in November, but Everton emerged as favourites to land the Brazilian in recent days.

There were several claims that the Toffees had an offer accepted by the Ligue 1 side, and The Independent reported that the Merseysiders had even managed to have Gabriel complete and pass an off-site medical.

However, with the coronavirus pandemic slowing virtually all aspects of the football industry down, Chelsea have snuck in under the radar to all but clinch their second signing for next season.

The Daily Express quoted a tweet by Eurosport reporter Manu Lonjon about the deal, which is expected to see Chelsea part with £30m for the former Avaí man.

“Gabriel (LOSC) at Chelsea is very hot,” Lonjon posted. “Almost completed. Everton also tries it but Chelsea far ahead…”

The Brazil U20 international had only extended his contract with the French side in January. That deal was supposed to run through until 2023.

The 6’3″ defender lined out twice for Lille against the Blues in this season’s Champions League group stage.

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard was clearly impressed with what he saw, and now looks to have built on the signing of playmaker Hakim Ziyech from Ajax.