Chelsea Deviate From Usual Transfer Policy With Carney Chukwuemeka

Chelsea have agreed a $25 million transfer involving one of the Premier League’s hottest young prospects.

But this time, rather than leaving Stamford Bridge, that young prospect is joining Chelsea.

The west London side are set to sign England Under-19 international Carney Chukwuemeka from Aston Villa. The 18-year-old played twelve times in the Premier League for Steven Gerrard’s side last season, starting two matches with the other appearances coming as a substitute.

He was named in the team of the tournament when England won the Under-19 European Championship this summer and had been attracting a lot of interest as he only had 12 months left on his Villa contract.

Chelsea snapped him up for roughly $18 million, rising to $25 million once add-ons are included, but they’re usually the club selling youth prospects for that kind of price.

You could make a pretty strong team out of up-and-coming players released by Chelsea before they hit their prime. Last summer, they sold the likes of Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori, Marc Guehi and Tino Livramento. Before that, they’ve sold Nathan Ake and Kevin De Bruyne, now both at rivals Manchester City as well as selling Mohamed Salah to Roma. Instead of putting these players into their squad before they are at their peak, they bought ready-made players who can slot straight into the team.

This makes the Chukwuemeka signing stand out.

Chukwuemeka reportedly had sky-high salary demands, but with other top sides interested in him, it’s unlikely he would’ve chosen Chelsea if they didn’t offer him a path to first team soccer. $20 million might be the going rate for a relatively untested young prospect (just ask Southampton), but it’s not the kind of fee clubs throw around lightly. And as Chelsea have already spent that kind of money on Chukwuemeka, they are unlikely to make a large profit on him if they only send him out on loan, especially if his salary is anything near the more than $5 million a year he reportedly demanded from Aston Villa.

Chelsea could loan him out this season, although Premier League rules mean he would have to be loaned out overseas or to a team in the Championship. But it’s been suggested that Chukwuemeka could go straight into Thomas Tuchel’s squad this season. Whether that happens is another thing; with the exception of Frank Lampard’s first season in charge, very few young players have broken into the Chelsea first team recently.

But even if Chukwuemeka’s playing time is limited under Tuchel this season, his signing in itself is something uncommon at Chelsea.

Over the last few years, very few players have been bought who weren’t already playing top level soccer regularly. The young players that Chelsea have signed, like Kai Havertz, had already made a name for themselves in top leagues. They had a lot more experience than Chukwuemeka’s two Premier League starts. There has been the odd signing of a future prospect, like Ethan Ampadu from Exeter City in 2017 for what seems like pennies compared to other Chelsea signings, but none for the same kind of transfer fee as Chukwuemeka.

When players like Livramento and Guehi are graduating Chelsea’s youth sides but struggling to break into the first team, it would have made little sense to spend so much money to bring in more inexperienced young players.

But the club’s new owners might have a different plan in mind. Chelsea currently don’t have a permanent sporting director, with co-owner Todd Boehly filling the role in the interim, and reportedly giving Tuchel more of a say in transfers than might otherwise have been the case. While Raheem Sterling’s move from Manchester City and Kalidou Koulibali’s move from Napoli seem like more typical Chelsea signings – players who are in the peak of their careers and have already had successful seasons in the past – Chukwuemeka and Chicago Fire goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina suggest a new willingness to pay for potential.

Even if Chukwuemeka had stayed at Villa this season, he probably wouldn’t have been a regular starter. Rather he would have been eased into the first team. And at this stage in his career, a loan spell at a club where he can get regular soccer would be quite normal. If he spends the upcoming season at Chelsea, then unless there are a few injuries, he probably won’t get too much game time.

It’ll take a few seasons to see how good Chukwuemeka is, but if Chelsea are willing to spend up to $25 million on a player with one year left on his contract and just 300 minutes of Premier League soccer to his name, then they must feel he has the potential to go all the way to the top.