New £18m Chelsea signing Dario Essugo axed from Portugal squad for England game | Football

Dario Essugo has been dropped from Portugal’s Under-21s squad following confirmation of his transfer to Chelsea this week.

Chelsea completed a double deal with Sporting CP for both Essugo and Geovany Quenda for a combined fee of €74.5 million (£62.4m).

Quenda, who was also wanted by Manchester United after his impressive performances under Ruben Amorim at Sporting, will move to Stamford Bridge in 2026 with Chelsea paying €50.7m (£42.4m) up front, plus €1.3m (£1m) in performance-related add-ons.

Meanwhile, Essugo, who is currently spending the season on loan at La Liga side Las Palmas, will join Chelsea at the end of the season after a €22.2m (£18.6m) transfer fee was agreed with Sporting.

Essugo has made eight appearances for Portugal’s Under-21s and came on as a second-half substitute in their 1-0 defeat to Romania on Friday night.

But ahead of their friendly against England Under-21s at The Hawthorns on Monday night, Portugal’s Football Federation (FPF) has announced that Essugo has been cut from the squad.

The reason is that Portugal Under-21s head coach, Rui Jorge, is unlikely to be able to call upon Essugo for the European Under-21 Championship in June as it will clash with Chelsea’s Club World Cup campaign in the United States.

A statement from the FPF on Saturday night read: ‘The dismissal is in line with the thinking that has guided Rui Jorge’s choices.

‘After being called up, Dario Essugo signed a new professional contract with Chelsea, the team that will compete in the Club World Cup, which could prevent him from being an option for the European Championship in this age group, to be held in June, in Slovakia.’

Portugal are in Group C European Under-21 Championship alongside France, Georgia and Poland.

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