Chelsea could move on Portugal youth international to sister club after 0 senior minutes played | OneFootball

This is going to be a remarkably hectic few weeks at Chelsea.

After a summer which has seen more players come in than go out so far, there’s a huge amount of business to be done. Around 20 players are going to have to be shifted, either on loan or permanently, before the end of this month. It’s time to get to work.

Some of them are big names, but some are really forgotten. We’d put Diego Moreira into that second category. Signed on a free transfer from Benfica, the young winger spent the first half of last season on loan at Lyon, where he unsurprisingly played very little.

He was then recalled in January to play for Chelsea’s development squad as the Blues looked to free up some of their international loan slots in a winter reshuffle.

L’Equipe are now reporting that the Portugal U21 international could make his move away permanent this time. Once again Ligue 1 have come calling, only this time it’s our affiliate club Strasbourg who are interested.

Just a couple of weeks ago it looked certain that Porto winger Goncalo Borges was going to join the Alsatians, but that move has now fallen through, putting them right back in the market for a young Portuguese winger.

A gamble that has petered out

Moreira is 20 now and ready to move into senior football. His chance is hardly going to come at Chelsea, and another season playing for the Dev Squad isn’t on the cards. Whatever the fee, this seems a sensible move for Chelsea, Moreira and Strasbourg.

There was some surprise when Chelsea signed Moreira in the first place, even on a free. There isn’t much confidence that he’s ever going to be at the right level to play for the Blues ever, so a chance to sell him (even if it’s to a club with the same owners) seems a smart one to take.