Football in the modern era is all about athleticism. Coaching has come a long way in the past couple of decades, raising the floor of elite footballers' general ability, but the truly elite players combine their footballing with frightening athleticism.
Geovany Quenda is among them - and that's exactly why Chelsea bought him.
Who is incoming Chelsea signing Geovany Quenda?
Quenda was born in the former Portuguese colony of Guinea-Bissau and move to the mainland at a young age, eventually joining Benfica's academy. But, when those in charge at the Seixal academy failed to make good on their promises to young Quenda, he boldly moved across town to Sporting instead.
Fast forward six years and the right-winger still has great feet, great confidence and an even greater price-tag.
Chelsea agreed a £45 million transfer for the teenager back in March 2025, with the winger set to join up with the rest of the Stamford Bridge squad at the beginning of the 2026/27 campaign.
He was a standout at the Under-17 Euros in 2024 and even better for Portugal at the U21 edition of the competition a year later, despite their premature exit, making Chelsea look pretty smart for securing the player's long-term future months in advance.
Quenda is a creative player, first and foremost, and an intelligent one, too. He can play on either flank, creating chances from both sides and due to his Nuno Mendes-esque athleticism, can cover ground from byline to byline, which could make him a useful wing-back option as he matures.
His trademark move is receiving on the back foot near the touchline, pausing for a brief moment to draw in a defender, before knocking it past his opponent and accelerating into the space.
Quenda is the type of player to make his marker look foolish for getting too tight but doesn't overdo it, beating his man once and threading a pass into the channel for the striker, previously Viktor Gyokeres, to chase.
FourFourTwo's long-running 'The Boy's A Bit Special' feature has been going since the magazine's first issue, highlighting the best young players in the United Kingdom and abroad.
As of September 2025, we've given it a revamp. Our youth football expert Joe Donnohue will be profiling four teenagers each month, explaining why they're, well, a bit special.
His ability to create from open play is among the best outside Europe's top five leagues.
Chelsea may have Pedro Neto, Jamie Gittens, Alejandro Garnacho and Estevao to deploy in wide areas but soon they'll be joined by Quenda, discovering that competition for places is about to become even sterner.
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