Not all the players Chelsea are trying to sign this offseason can make an immediate impact. Andre Gomes of Benfica, for example, is someone who’s more likely to contribute further down the line, if he actually comes.

And it’s not that he’s going to come cheaply. According to A Bola, the 19 year old midfielder, currently playing with Portugal in the U-20 World Cup, recently signed a contract that keeps him at the Estadio da Luz until 2019, and within it is a  €30 million release clause, which Benfica are at the moment holding out for.

It’s quite unlikely that Jose Mourinho is going to convince Roman Abramovich to spend so much money on a 19-year old player with only 7 appearances for the first team so far in his very young career, but it’s more than likely that if Chelsea are serious about signing Gomes, Benfica will be willing to lower their demands quite a bit.

Gomes joined Benfica’s youth system only in 2011, and spent his first season with the club playing for the Benfica B team. Last season he was promoted a class to the senior side, making a total of 18 appearances, scoring two goals. He actually scored on his league debut, and also made a Champions League appearance against Barcelona.

Strengthening the central midfield might be the number one thing Jose Mourinho is after on his return season to Chelsea, hoping to regain the toughness and physicality that was part of his team’s success from 2004-2007. Gomes stands at 1.88 meters tall, and some have compared him to Javi Martinez of Bayern Munich, possibly the best defensive midfielder in the world today.

Gomes is the captain of the U-20 Portugal side, and as another proving point of how much he’s being considered an important prospect of the country’s footballing future stands his invitation to a friendly match of the senior team against Ecuador four months ago, although he eventually didn’t play a single minute in that encounter.

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