A couple months back, there were reports that Juventus were leading the race to sign Chelsea’s highly-rated youngster Samuel Iling-Junior, and now, they are apparently close to signing the 16-year-old.
According to Goal Italia, the Chelsea U18 player has already been in Turin for the past few days, and only the final details are left to be sorted out. The Old Lady have beaten out clubs like Ajax, Schalke 04, Bayern Munich and PSG for the kid’s signature. As reported earlier, Chelsea did make an offer of a professional contract as well (which the kid could sign once he turned 17), but it looks like his mind had already been swayed.
#Juventus are confident of completing the signing of Chelsea youngster Samuel Iling-Junior. The player was in Turin in the last days ⚪️⚫️@goal
— Romeo Agresti (@romeoagresti) July 23, 2020
Primarily a left winger, Iling-Junior made 8 appearances in the U18 Premier League and 3 appearances in the UEFA Youth League this season. He represents England’s U17 side at the international level and has often been touted to be a future star in the making.
Just from those with England caps, Ebiowei, Barry, Musiala, Tobi Oluwayemi, Harvey Elliott, Liam Delap, Charlie McNeill, Noah Ohio, Logan Pye and now Sam Iling have all moved in the last year seeking something else. Rico Richards and Jadan Raymond nearly did, others might yet.
— Chelsea Youth (@chelseayouth) July 23, 2020
Losing him would no doubt be a blow to the Blues, but with the likes of Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi already at the club, as well as Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner joining us next season, it is only logical that the youngster has chosen a club that he believes will provide a less daunting path to senior-team football. Juventus do not have a good track record of promoting youngsters, but there’s a good chance that they have agreed to provide other incentives as well.
In any case, all the best for your next endeavor, Samuel!