Chelsea, Arsenal make approach for Watford’s Richarlison — report

The good news is that Chelsea have apparently already made the initial approach for Richarlison, lodging our interest with Watford as well as beginning talks with Richarlison’s agent.

The bad news is that any potential move would have to wait until the summer.

The trivial news is that of course we’re not alone in this interest, with Arsenal also mentioned in Brazilian journalist Jorge Nicola’s report. Given Richarlison’s season so far, Chelsea and Arsenal are unlikely to be alone in registering interested in the 20-year-old.

We might remember Richarlison from his day out at Stamford Bridge in October, when he missed several excellent chances — hey, he’ll fit right in with this current bunch! — but he’s had a generally very impressive first five months in England following his transfer from Fluminense in the summer. Watford paid just €12.5m for him (after rumors, which had Chelsea tenuously linked as well, were expecting at least €20m). Any future transfer fee will likely be a lot more than that.

Richarlison is signed through 2022 but one would imagine Watford would have a tough time hanging on to him if any of the big teams came calling. He was already the center of a brief speculation when he uploaded a picture of himself with Eden Hazard at the end of November.