Giovanni Cuenda: Meet Chelsea’s newest winger

When Kuenda joins ChelseaHe was accompanied by his father, mother, sister, friends, agent and his godfather Basaula Lemba, a former top-flight footballer from Portugal who also won 10 caps for Zaire.

Lemba was instrumental in Kuenda’s early development before Benfica brought him into their academy system in 2017.

According to former youth coach Fabio Roque, Sporting and Porto were also tracking him.

“We saw him play against us for Benfica as an under-10 player,” Roque told BBC Sport.

“We knew from our scouting team that he was a good player and tracked his progress through the Portuguese Football Federation website.

“He was incredible and different. His discipline wasn’t always great and he was still raw, but his attitude was great. He was assertive, confident, unpredictable, brave and had a great relationship with the ball.”

Portugal’s three biggest clubs – Benfica, Sporting and Porto – had a “non-aggression pact” but after Cuenda scored against Sporting in a crucial match for Benfica, he ultimately described Roque as a “normal” move to Sporting.

From 2019, when he changed academies, the pain started acting differently.

“I remember a match against Benfica – a very important game,” said Roque.

“It was a tough week before Christmas. We had just suffered a heavy defeat and our captain was injured.

“Emotions were high. Fifteen minutes into the match we had a player sent off. We had to adapt, but Giovanni and the rest of the team continued to compete, held the 0-0 and showed their mentality.

“Then I remember walking into the dressing room at half-time and Giovanni put his hand on my shoulder and said: ‘Okay, we’re going to win.’

“That moment gave us all the confidence. And we won. From a corner, the ball broke to Giovanni and he calmly put it into the net.

“It was a moment of individuality and faith. It showed who Giovanni really is. In that moment, I thought: ‘This guy is special.’

Eventually, Cuenda progressed to the Under-23s under Thiago Teixeira.

“Everyone talked about him. Everyone said he was one of the most talented players in the academy,” Teixeira told BBC Sport.

“We wanted him to develop step by step, but he could have made his debut too early.

“I remember a training session when we were practicing set-pieces and free-kicks. We used to joke that he couldn’t score from free-kicks.

“Then he scored four or five goals in a row, smiled and said: ‘Okay, that’s over for me’.”

Although Cuenda joins a canon of great sporting wingers including Ronaldo, Luis Figo and Nani, his former coach believes he most closely resembles him. Arsenal and England forward Open Saka.

“It’s his explosiveness, his ability to play inside, protect the ball, his unpredictability and his creativity,” Roque said.

“Defensively, Giovani might be stronger than Saka at this stage. Bucayo, however, is already performing consistently in a very competitive league. But his running, crossing and final passes remind me a lot of Saka.”

Roque added: “He’s one of the most impressive players I’ve ever seen. Among players born in 2007, he’s one of the best in the world alongside Lamine Yamal and Estevao. My expectations are high, but I know it’s a long career.”

At the age of 16, Kuenda was training with Ruben Amorim’s first team squad before the coach left Sporting. Manchester UnitedAnd soon he started breaking records.

The first came when he scored in the 24th minute of his debut against Porto, becoming the youngest player to score in the Portuguese Super Cup.

He later became Sporting’s youngest player to start and score in the Champions League, surpassing Ronaldo’s record as the youngest goalscorer in Liga Portugal and establishing himself as a first-team regular at the age of 17.

“Saka is more direct and faster,” Teixeira added. “But I think Koenda can be even better when he plays inside. It’s clear that he’s the talent of the decade for the academy.”