Chelsea have now missed out on the signing of Ethan Nwaneri as Arsenal finally strike an agreement with the 16-year-old.
That is according to The Athletic.
So, what are the details involving Ethan Nwaneri and Chelsea? Let’s take a look…
What’s the story?
Well – according to the Evening Standard – Chelsea and Manchester City were fighting to sign the teenager as his contract with Arsenal was about to expire.
Nwaneri – who Granit Xhaka called “special” on CBS Sports – had yet to sign fresh terms with the Gunners, which caused the Blues to sit up and take notice of the situation.
Now – however – Todd Boehly will not be adding the Londoner to his collection of Europe’s very best young talent, such as Andrey Santos and Cesare Casadei, as the north Londoners have convinced him to commit his future to Arsenal.
Nwaneri is set to sign professional terms with Arsenal when he turns 17 – he will be on a scholarship deal until then.
The England Under-17 international put his name up in lights back in September when he became the youngest Premier League player in history, appearing in a 3-0 win over Brentford aged 15 years and 181 days.
Forget about Nwaneri – Chelsea have their own talents to develop
While it would have been a real statement to pinch Arsenal’s best young talent, Chelsea have plenty of other diamonds to focus on.
The aforementioned Santos and Casadei are expected to have a bright future at Stamford Bridge, while other gems, such as Carney Chukwuemeka, Gabriel Slonina, Omari Hutchinson, Lewis Hall and many more have an enormous amount of potential to fulfil in west London.
Chelsea are also about to add to this crop of precocious talent – a deal to sign Angelo from Brazilian giants Santos is close after a £15m bid was accepted, according to Fabrizio Romano.
If Mauricio Pochettino can find a way to incorporate most of these talents into the first-team, Chelsea could dominate for the next decade.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
