Chelsea consider signing young Brazilian despite being banned from signing players

FIFA are due to hear their transfer ban appeal next week

Chelsea were handed a two-window ban on registering new players in February and yet still appear to be on the lookout for new signings, according to reports linking the club with Bruno Guimarães. Guimarães is a 21-year-old Brazilian midfielder, known for his defensive capabilities that have stood out while becoming a star of Athletico Paranaense. The Curitiba outfit won last year's Copa Sudamericana - the South American equivalent of the Europa League, so he should feel right at home at Chelsea. According to ESPN, the Blues are preparing a busy summer despite the FIFA ban and a club scout was in position at Paranaense's impressive 3-0 win over Boca Juniors in the Copa Libertadores last week. FIFA's Appeal Committee will hear Chelsea's case next Thursday, 11 April, having opted to prevent them from signing any players in the period before the appeal was made. If unsuccessful, the club could still go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in another bid to halt the ban. Guimarães is said to be available for £34 million and he also holds Spanish citizenship, making a move to Europe much easier in terms of gaining a work permit. Napoli, AC Milan and Lille are reported to have scouted the youngster with Inter seeing a bid rejected in January. At Wednesday's win over Boca, Shakhtar Donetsk chief scout Jose Boto was also monitoring his progress, the Ukrainian club boasting an excellent reputation of bringing Brazilian talent to Europe with past examples including Willian, Douglas Costa, and Fernandinho.