Chelsea’s Brazilian winger Nathan is reportedly on the verge of sealing a move back to his homeland in a season-long loan deal with Atletico Mineiro.
As per reports from Brazilian outlet UOL, 22-year-old Chelsea attacker Nathan is set to sign for Atletico Mineiro this summer, on a season-long loan deal.
The Brazilian was signed by the Blues back in the summer transfer window of 2015 from boyhood club Atletico Paranaense for an undisclosed fee.
However, upon his arrival, the gifted winger was immediately sent on a two-year loan to Chelsea’s feeder club Vitesse Arnhem, where he scored seven times in 51 appearances across two seasons and won the KNVB Cup in the 2016-17 season.
Following his return to London from Netherlands, the Brazilian was sent out on a six-month loan spell to French outfit Amiens last summer, where he failed to make much of an impact. He was then loaned out to Portuguese club Belenenses for the second half of the 2017-18 season, where he scored twice in 13 appearances.
Nathan is yet to make his first-team debut for Chelsea and with that unlikely to change in the coming campaign under new manager Maurizio Sarri, the club are prepared to send him out on his fourth temporary stint away from the club.
An agreement between Chelsea and Atletico Mineiro over the loan deal is understood to be already in place. And, the 22-year old attacker is due to travel to Belo Horizonte this week for a medical and discussion of personal terms with the Galo, before the move is confirmed.
The 2018 FA Cup winners also recently confirmed that another talented young player, Jeremie Boga, had left the club to join Italian side Sassuolo permanently, in a £3.6 million deal, after having only made a single senior appearance for Chelsea.
It is not something new to see young, promising players leave the West London outfit on loan, season after season. Last term, Chelsea reportedly had a total of 33 players out on loan across Europe, including the likes of Michy Batshuayi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
This time out, the Blues are already reported to have sent out as many as 17 players on temporary deals, with first-team member Kenedy re-signing with Newcastle United, while promising academy products Lewis Baker and Jamal Blackman have signed for Championship outfit Leeds United. Expect this number to increase before the transfer window shuts down next month.
