Agent confirms initial Chelsea talks for Jesús ‘Tecatito’ Corona

Jesús Manuel Corona, a.k.a. “Tecatito” has been one of the more exciting players to come out of Mexico over the past decade, earning a move to Europe at a young age and turning heads especially with his breakout year in 2015, for both club (FC Twente in the Eredivisie) and country (Mexico at the Copa América).

That summer, he earned a big move to FC Porto, for whom he’s now amassed over 200 appearances (26 goals, 51 assists), mostly as a winger but recently often as a wing-back. He can play on either flank but prefers the right.

Over the years, he’s been linked at a steady clip with moves to other European leagues, as many of the Primeira Liga’s top players often are, but so far, nothing has materialized. Now 27, the time for that move is running out for Tecatito, so his agent has been extra busy.

He had recently confirmed an approach from Antonio Conte’s Inter Milan, while this week, he’s also done the same for Chelsea. That may not mean much, or it may mean some real intent. I’d like to think it’s the latter.

“At some point we talked to [Chelsea]. I cannot say if he’s option A, B or C, now they are rather rumours.

“We’ll have to wait a bit for this to continue moving forward and for the leagues to begin again, and from there see what the next movements will be because the market is a little bit stopped.

“He has two years left on his contract. He did awaken a lot of interest for his [play this season], which has been outstanding and at a high level. But now with the current situation of the virus everything has slowed down a bit, now the signings are in quarantine.”

Tecatito once carried a €50m release clause, which seemed a bit hopeful even for the inflated prices Portuguese teams tend to charge other European clubs. The new contract that he signed last year has lowered that to a more reasonable €30m, though given the current economic climate, teams would likely try to negotiate a discount on that.

“The current [release] clause is €30m. From there we’ll see how things happen. Today Jesus has been a fundamental part of Porto for several seasons and we’re going to see where it ends.

“We have spoken with several teams from England, Spain, some from Germany, but well, normally at this time of year we talk more deeply, and in this market the leagues are either resuming or haven’t been able to conclude. All the teams are seeing what happens to their sales or their signings so from there the ball continues to roll in the offices.”

-Matias Bunge; source: Medio Tiempo via Express

I’ve been a big fan of Tecatito for quite some time, so I would love to see him in a Chelsea shirt — especially if we can get him at a good price. He’s no Jadon Sancho, but he wouldn’t need to be with Pulisic, Hudson-Odoi, and Ziyech already in the team.