Chelsea complete West Brom transfer ahead of European rivals

Chelsea have signed 15-year-old hotshot Leo Cardoso from West Brom.

The Portugal and England under-16 international has been the subject of interest from the Premier League giants since last year.

Cardoso, who can play out wide or as a number 10, has been highly rated by coaches at West Brom and the Baggies were resigned to losing the teenager.

Scouts from across Europe regularly flocked to watch him in action and BirminghamLive understands Chelsea beat a number of other teams to his signature.

On Instagram, Cardoso posted photos of him holding a Chelsea shirt alongside John Terry and Petr Cech.

The youngster also took the opportunity to say his goodbyes to everybody at The Hawthorns.

"I just wanted to take the time to send a message to all of the staff and my teammates at West Brom," he wrote.

"You all helped me to improve over the years and made my time at the club the very best it could be with all of your support and hard work along the way."