Chelsea move ahead of Graham Potter’s West Ham in race to sign another rising star

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Chelsea face competition from the likes of West Ham and Aston Villa to sign another rising star this summer.

If you look at the Chelsea strategy in recent transfer windows, they’ve put together a clear plan to recruit some of the world’s best youngsters.

The Blues squad already includes so many young talents such as Cole Palmer, Romeo Lavia and Levi Colwill. On top of that, the likes of Estevao Willian and Dario Essugo will join up with them next season.

Any big decision at Chelsea is signed off by senior figures Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano. We’d love to urge them to ensure they inject a bit more experience into the playing squad to help all these youngsters.

• READ MORE: Chelsea youngster has been bulking up off the pitch to prepare for Premier League debut

Chelsea lead race for Lorient youngster Arthur Avom

According to The Sun, Chelsea are frontrunners in the race to sign Arthur Avom from Lorient in the French second division.

It is explained that scouts from Chelsea, West Ham and Aston Villa have regularly attended games this season to watch the 20-year-old rising star, who’s received comparisons to Premier League legend Yaya Toure.

Apparently, Ligue 2 leaders Lorient, who’ve already secured promotion, want to tie down the central midfielder to a new deal, but the player is waiting patiently until the summer to make a decision on his future.

The report explains that Chelsea’s plan would be to sign Avom and send him straight on loan to sister club Strasbourg in Ligue 1 next season. Let’s see if Enzo Maresca’s side can fight off competition from Graham Potter’s West Ham and Unai Emery’s Aston Villa.

Even though he’s playing in France’s second tier this season, Avom has been a real standout performer and is attracting interest from top Premier League sides.

The all-action central midfielder, who’s earned two senior caps for Cameroon at international level, does a bit of everything on the football pitch.

Chelsea’s midfield depth for the 2025/26 season is shaping up to be stacked and extremely competitive. Therefore, it’s no surprise that Avom would be loaned out if he decides to sign for the Blues.

There are many supporters that are mystified that youngsters continue to sign at Stamford Bridge, but the vision the club are selling them is clearly a strong one.

Chelsea linked with West Ham

While Chelsea and West Ham could battle it out for Avom’s signature, the Blues are reportedly interested in a couple of players from their London rivals.

It’s been a pretty bleak season for the Hammers, who appointed Graham Potter as their manager in January, because they’re just outside the Premier League’s relegation zone. They’ve still got some quality individuals at the London Stadium, though.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
14	Man UtdManchester United	34	10	9	15	39	47	-8	39
15	EvertonEverton	34	8	14	12	34	41	-7	38
16	TottenhamTottenham	34	11	4	19	62	56	6	37
17	West HamWest Ham	34	9	9	16	39	58	-19	36
18	IpswichIpswich	34	4	9	21	33	74	-41	21
19	LeicesterLeicester	34	4	6	24	27	76	-49	18
20	SouthamptonSouthampton	34	2	5	27	25	80	-55	11

It’s been claimed that Chelsea admire West Ham attacker Muhammed Kudus, who’s got am £85m release clause in his contract.

Meanwhile, reports claim that Chelsea may be interested in signing West Ham midfielder Edson Alvarez before the Club World Cup tournament this summer.