7:30am: Chelsea confirms midfielder deal as Frenchman opens door to Chelsea move
AKPAN DEAL ANNOUNCED –
Ashanti Akpan, a midfielder for Chelsea, has been announced to be on loan at Birmingham City of the Women’s Championship for the 2024–25 season.
CHELSEA posted on the club website: ‘The 18-year-old, who signed her first professional contract midway through last season, has been at the club since the age of seven and has experienced much success with the Academy, including lifting the FA Youth Cup in 2021/22 and the FA WSL Academy Cup in 2022/23.
‘Akpan made her debut for our senior team back in March 2023 when she came off the bench in a 3-1 FA Cup quarter-final win over Reading.
‘The young midfielder has represented England at Under-15, Under-16, Under-17 and Under-18 level, and featured at this summer’s U19 European Championships in Lithuania, where the Young Lionesses reached the semi-final.
‘She will spend the upcoming campaign on loan in the Championship with Birmingham, who finished fifth in the league last season.
‘Everyone at CHELSEA would like to wish Ashanti every success during her time with Birmingham City.’
Frenchman opens door to Chelsea move
CHELSEA -linked free agent Adrien Rabiot has broken his silence on his departure from Italian champions Juventus.
It is widely expected that we will look to sign some more players in the coming weeks after adding a number of talents to the side over the last few weeks, but they need to add some more quality, experience and winning mentality to the side.
Rabiot has been a player that the club have been linked with for the last few transfer windows – he is a player that is proven at the very highest level of the game and is a player that would bring quality to that midfield.
The midfielder is available on a free after his deal expired at Juventus, and reports on the sun have claimed that he is very interested in a move to the Premier League.
Now the midfielder has broken his silence on Social Media with a message to Juventus – He wrote on Instagram: “After five seasons at Juventus, five years in Turin, I want to say goodbye and thank you.
“All of you who have been there for me. The club and all its staff.
“And you fans, always close and very affectionate!
“Thanks for everything @juventus. Goodbye and good luck.”