Corinthians president Augusto Melo has confirmed that teenage defender Denner is closing in on a transfer to Chelsea.

Earlier this week, reports emerged that the Premier League giants had agreed to pay in the region of £10.5m to sign the 16-year-old, despite the player having yet to make a first-team appearance.

Speaking to Meu Timao, which was relayed by Globo Esporte, Melo acknowledged that the two clubs are on the brink of doing business, describing it as "a wonderful sale" for all concerned.

Melo said: "For a 16-year-old boy who hasn't yet stepped into the professional ranks, who is a promise, who still has two years to stay at Corinthians because he can only leave after he turns 18, it is a wonderful sale, in a way.

He added: "He has a clause, the agents didn't agree to increase the clause because there was already an enquiry to sell. There's nothing we can do about it, either you accept, or they pay the ridiculous clause.

"I want to make one thing very clear: it's not what I wanted, it's not what I want. I would never sell Denner now. As much as I need money, I kept the players in the squad and renew their contracts.

"We don't have money to hire, we are making sacrifices. It's not a great sale for Corinthians, but it's a necessity. In context, it's an excellent sale. After all, he would either leave for R$10m [€1.63m for Brazilian clubs] or leave abroad."

As stated by Melo, Denner will not be eligible to play for Chelsea until July 2026 courtesy of FIFA regulations.

Casadei closing on Serie A move?

Meanwhile, Chelsea midfielder Cesare Casadei is now allegedly more likely to sign for Lazio rather than Torino.

A report earlier in the week suggested that Torino were awaiting for the green light to conclude a deal for the Italy Under-21 international.

However, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Lazio are working on a deal where they can win the race for the former Inter Milan youngster.

Romano says that a deal worth €13m (£10.88m) plus a sell-on clause is on the table, it yet to be determined whether Chelsea will accept the proposal.

Furthermore, it is suggested that Lazio are working to agree terms with Casadei, who has been linked with a move to Serie A for the best part of a month.

Casadei is in line to leave Stamford Bridge having made six appearances this season, all in cup competitions, and totalling just 495 minutes across 17 outings.

Danilo moves to Brazil

Turning attention back to Brazilian football, Danilo has completed a move to Flamengo having ended his time with Juventus.

The 33-year-old departed Turin earlier this week, concluding a five-and-a-half year spell with the club that had seen him make 213 appearances in all competitions.

That decision was made with Juventus having acquired replacements for the second half of the season, the expectation being that the veteran would ultimately sign for Flamengo on a free transfer.

Danilo has now been confirmed as a Flamengo player, returning to his homeland for the first time since 2012 when he left Santos for Porto.