Chelsea agree Piazon deal

Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Sao Paolo starlet Lucas Piazon but will have to wait nine months to welcome him to Stamford Bridge.

Piazon, 17, cannot complete his transfer to the English Premier League until his 18th birthday, but Chelsea are confident the attacking midfielder will sign a long-term deal once he arrives in January.”The player has signed a pre-contract agreement and is expected to join us in January 2012 on a long-term deal,” a statement said on Chelsea’s website.Piazon has yet to play for Sao Paolo but has been in terrific form at the South American Under-17 Championships with Brazil’s youth team.He first came to attention at the Under-15 Championships in 2009, where he finished on top of the goal-scorers’ table with 10 strikes for Brazil.Reports suggest Chelsea have paid a fee of up to 10 million pounds to secure highly rated youth, who was believed to have attracted interest from Serie A club Juventus, among others.