Chelsea has officially announced that they have signed Sporting CP midfielder Dario Essugo to a long-term deal. Sporting confirmed Chelsea will pay €22.3 million for the 20-year-old as part of an agreement reached between the two clubs earlier this year.
Essugo will travel to the United States later this month to play in the Club World Cup with Chelsea. His long-term contract at Stamford Bridge is set to expire in June 2033.
Sporting CP’s Geovany Quena, who will move to London in a deal worth up to €52.1 million, will join Essugo next summer. He has been on loan in Portugal for an additional year.
Essugo’s shirt number will be confirmed by Chelsea later. This summer, he will join returning loanees Lesley Ugochukwu and Carney Chukwuemeka, as well as Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Romeo Lavia, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, in the Blues’ midfield.
Young midfielder joins Chelsea from Sporting CP
Chelsea FC is pleased to confirm the signing of Portuguese midfielder Dario Essugo.
Welcome to Chelsea, Dario! 🔵
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) June 2, 2025
Although he was unable to prevent his team from relegation (they finished second to last), Essugo, 20, gained a lot of experience (27 appearances, 25 of which were starts) and received some recognition for his dynamic midfield performances during his season-long loan at Las Palmas in the Spanish top division.
He will be expected to support Moisés Caicedo, who played almost every minute (with the exception of roughly 60) of the whole league season and started all 38 Premier League games. Good for him, of course, but good to have a backup.
In order to strengthen their roster before their Premier League and Champions League campaigns the following season, Maresca’s Blues are hoping to sign a central defender and a left-footed winger this summer.
In the meanwhile, a lot of outgoings are anticipated. The fates of Joao Felix, Carney Chukwuemeka, and Trevoh Chalobah are all uncertain, and Christopher Nkunku, Axel Disasi, and Benoit Badiashile are among those anticipated to depart.
