Chelsea manager José Mourinho is confident of finalising a deal for Atlético Paranaense midfielder Nathan.
The 19 year-old confirmed that he was having a medical and was close to agreeing personal terms with Chelsea through his Twitter account earlier this week, but no transfer has been announced as yet by the parties involved.
A potential stumbling block in the deal is a disagreement between Nathan’s agent and father José Carlos de Souza and Atlético Paranaense over the youngsters contract.
Atlético claimed they had an option to extend the deal, which expired at the end of March, for a further two years, but José Carlos de Souza insisted his son should be able to negotiate with other clubs.
That stand-off led to the matter being taken to court, but Chelsea’s intervention was seen as a compromise, with the Blues expected to pay around €7.6 million to cover the transfer.
Whether complications have arisen surrounding that stand-off is currently unclear, but as far as Mourinho is aware, the transfer is still likely to happen.
"I’m not worried with that [the deal to sign Nathan]. Not at all," he said, as reported by the Star and website Off The Post.
"He’s a player that our structure followed and our structure thinks he’s a player with potential for the future. If the deal is close I will try to help, as I try to help everyone, to become a Chelsea player."
Nathan came to prominence whilst playing for Brazil’s under-17 side at the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup and eventually made his debut for Atlético in May 2014. Since then, he has gone on to feature 13 times for them in all competitions and also starred for Brazil’s under-20 outfit at the recent South American Youth Football Championship.
