Chelsea contract talks: Abraham, Anjorin, Maatsen positive momentum after Lamptey, Mola departures

Chelsea’s focus over the past year or so has been on extending contracts rather than buying new players — both by choice and by force — and we’ve been largely quite successful at this.

The likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mason Mount, Conor Gallagher, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Guehi, Billy Gilmour, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Fikayo Tomori, and Reece James have all signed new contracts since the end of last season. We’ve had a few misses, such as Jay Dasilva, Marcin Bulka, Daishawn Redan, Kasey Palmer, Tariq Lamptey and Clinton Mola, but space is limited once we get above youth level and, by definition, not all prospects can stay. Neither Lamptey nor Mola saw much of an immediate path forward for themselves, it would appear, despite Chelsea’s renewed and clear emphasis on youth this season.

In their round-up of the situation, The Athletic put forward the next three names on Chelsea’s priority list: Tammy Abraham, Tino Anjorin, and Ian Maatsen.

Abraham is by far the most pressing case, it goes without saying. The 22-year-old, who has established himself as Chelsea’s first-choice striker by breaking the Curse of the No.9 shirt, is now into the final 18 months of his contract may still have over two years left on his contract but is relatively underpaid. Fortunately, “all parties involved expect” to reach an agreement over a new long-term contract soon. (Alas, nothing more specific on the timeline is given in the report.)

Next is versatile young attacker Tino Anjorin, who made his senior debut in the 7-1 thrashing of Grimsby Town in the League Cup. The 18-year-old has also been lighting up the PL2 recently for the Development Squad, scoring three goals in his last two games from midfield. His current contract expires at the end of the season, but talks over a new contract through 2025 are apparently “progressing well”.

Ian Maatsen, who doesn’t turn 18 for another month, also made his senior debut this season, also against Grimsby Town, and was also named to the bench against Hull City in the FA Cup just a couple weeks ago. His contract also expires at the end of the season, but “hopes are also high” in his case that he will commit long-term. Also!

Let’s hope so, also.