Chelsea transfer bombshell dropped as Fabrizio Romano CONFIRMS 'advanced talks'

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 5 Sept 2025 10:37 BST
• 4 min read

News

Football transfer news expert Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Chelsea are set to miss out on long-term target Gabriel Mec.

The Gremio attacker, 17, was heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge last summer and he was on the verge of becoming yet another wonderkid to join the Blues during the Clearlake Capital reign.

However, a deal failed to materialise, despite reports in Brazil suggesting that a deal was likely to take place before the end of the 2024 summer transfer window.

Chelsea were tipped to re-enter the race for Mec’s signature this year, but they eventually opted against pursuing the teenager and instead focused on signings such as Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens, Alejandro Garnacho and Liam Delap.

With a move to Stamford Bridge now extremely unlikely, Mec is close to joining Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk, as confirmed by the aforementioned Romano.

He posted on X: “Shakhtar Donetsk are in advanced talks to sign Gabriel Mec from Gremio.

“Proposal worth €15m to get Mec from 2026, as @felipee_sil has reported. Brazilian talent was very close to joining Chelsea in 2025.”

Chelsea miss out on Gremio youngster Gabriel Mec

Chelsea were confident of signing Mec last year and rumours suggested that he was open to completing a bombshell move to the Premier League giants.

However, the Blues eventually decided to walk away from the proposed deal and Mec is now on the verge of becoming the latest Brazilian to join Shakhtar.

The 15-time Ukrainian champions have a history of bringing talented Brazilian footballers to Europe, with the likes of Willian, Fernandinho, Fred, Douglas Costa and new Fulham signing Kevin all plying their trade for Shakhtar since 2010.

Mec, who has made two senior appearances for Gremio, is now expected to follow suit, with the teenager set to join Shakhtar next summer once he turns 18 years old.

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