Chelsea copy Liverpool transfer trick as Todd Boehly makes move to sign £30m wonderkid
Todd Boehly’s youth initiative at Chelsea, which has already spent more than £50 million on adolescents this summer, appears certain to continue as Graham Potter backup plans are put in place at Stamford Bridge.
Despite spending £250 million on players for Thomas Tuchel during the summer transfer window, the new manager has taken over with parts of his squad in serious need of an overhaul. The recruitment drive also included 19-year-old Cesare Casadei and 18-year-olds Carney Chukwuemeka and Gabriel Slonina.
With Slonina on loan at Chicago Fire until the end of the MLS season, the last two are further away from first-team action. However, Slonina could return in January to stake an early claim for Potter’s No. 1 spot as Casadei plays with Chelsea’s Under-21 team while adjusting to his new club and country.
However, Chukwuemeka has been tipped for first-team appearances soon after being kept as part of the main squad following his £20million arrival from Aston Villa andPotter could give him a serious chance in the busy October month coming up for the Blues.
The ambition shown by Boehly for long-term success, backed up by the appointment of Potter, is so serious that Chelsea could be about to pay £30million for a 17-year-old, according to reports in the Sunday Mirror. It is written that Luke Harris, Fulham’s talented midfielder, has been in negotiations with Chelsea over a possible £25million deal with £5million worth of add-ons, less than one month after signing his first professional contract.
The teenager played 45 minutes for Fulham’s first team against Crawley in the League Cup but hasn’t played another senior game, but has scored four goals in three matches for their U21 side this season and has an impressive 17 goals in 21 Premier League 2 matches.
Harris also scored a hat-trick against Chelsea last season in a run of 13 goals in nine matches, including four goals against Burnley. The uncapped Wales teenager also scored 13 times in 18 matches as a 16-year-old and has been called up for the most recent Nations League matches – he was an unused substitute for the 2-1 defeat to Belgium.
After signing his first professional contract this season Fulham boss Marco Silva said: “He will get games, he will be on the bench, he will have some minutes. We have to be patient with him, and not push pressure around him.” His contract runs until 2025 but Chelsea have moved fast to start talks over a transfer that could add him to other promising youngsters Zak Sturge and Omari Hutchinson, who also joined over the summer.
“Now we have to help him grow as a player,” Silva added. “He will have his time in the First Team, because he has the quality.”
Chelsea already have a name for this type of transfer after securing Derby’s promising left-back Dylan Williams last season too. The Fulham scouting system has produced some of the most promising young players in the league with Harvey Elliot and Fabio Carvalho – who cost Liverpool £30m this summer – both impressing under Jurgen Klopp already this season.