Chelsea have aggressively pursued young players under the Todd Boehly regime and that pattern has continued with the club's latest acquisition, 18-year-old winger, Diego Moreira.
Diego Moreira has completed a move to Chelsea from Benfica. ✍️
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 1, 2023
Here are 5 things to know about Chelsea's latest signing.
Where is Diego Moreira from?
The new Chelsea signing, Diego Manuel Jadon da Silva Moreira was born in Belgium in 2004 to a father who was from Guinea-Bissau but also held Portuguese citizenship. This makes him eligible to represent both Belgium and Portugal.
Moreira is from a footballing family
Diego Moreira's father is former Guinea-Bissau international Almami Moreira, who played professionally at Belgian side Standard Liege and from his mother's side, he is the grandson of Helmut Graf, a German-born footballer who also played for the Belgian club from 1976 to 1982.
Moreira's early career
Moreira's football career really kicked off after he moved to Lisbon, Portugal, where his father lived in 2020.
He signed a professional contract with Benfica and started to play with the under-23 side in the Liga Revelação midway through the 2020–21 season. During the following season, he became a regular starter with the U23 team and made his professional debut for Benfica B.
Moreira with Benfica's first team
Moreira first appeared for the Benfica first team in May 2022, when he came on as a lively figure in a 2-0 league win at Pacos Ferreira. He added further minutes to his tally last August when he entered the fray against Midtjylland in a Champions League qualifier.
Diego Moreira's stats
Welcome to Chelsea, Diego Moreira 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/dkxHCnAcgD https://t.co/csbRMhlaEa
— ً (@elsdawg) July 1, 2023
Moreira is a quick-footed 18-year-old talent with bags of skill and plenty of upside. Having made his senior debut against Pacos de Ferreira in May 2022, Moreira boasts 10 goals and 11 assists from a total of 64 appearances.
He also scored an impressive five goals and contributed seven assists in just 15 appearances in the UEFA Youth League, a competition his team clinched in 2022.