The 18-year-old midfielder has been linked with a string of Premier League clubs, including Manchester City, Liverpool and Newcastle United, thanks to the performances he has turned in Brazil in his young career so far.
However, The Times report that Chelsea are at the front of the queue to secure his signature ahead of their rivals, despite Paris Saint-Germain also being named as an interested party in the teenager.
While Chelsea spent big on established names over the summer, bringing in the likes of Raheem Sterling, Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucrella and Kalidou Koulibaly, they have also looked to invest in youth.
The Stamford Bridge side are trying to build for the future at the same time, signing the likes of Carney Chukwuemeka from Aston Villa, Omari Hutchinson from Arsenal, Gabriel Slonina from Chicago Fire and Cesare Casadei from Inter Milan.
They were also keen to sign the highly-touted Endrick from Palmeiras, but that particular Brazilian teenager has agreed to move to Real Madrid instead.
Chelsea return to Premier League action on 27 December at home against Bournemouth as they look to bounce back to some form after the World Cup break.
Graham Potter’s side lost three games on the spin before the Qatar interruption, without scoring a goal in any of them, and will need to regain form fast to ease the pressure on the new boss.
MORE : Wesley Fofana suffers knee injury in Chelsea friendly ahead of Premier League return
MORE : William Gallas says Chelsea should have signed World Cup star Josko Gvardiol instead of two ‘panic buys’
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