Chelsea’s efforts to snap up as many of the best and most talented youngsters on the planet as possible, continues.
The latest player to join the Chelsea Academy is 16-year-old Sami Tlemcani. The young goalkeeper arrives from Paris FC, who are renowned for their brilliant youth setup (and are not to be confused with Paris Saint-Germain, i.e. PSG).
Sami Tlemcani (16 ans) s'engage avec le @ChelseaFC !
— Paris FC (@ParisFC) October 6, 2020
Le Paris FC souhaite une belle réussite au jeune gardien.
Plus d'infos ⬇
Tlemcani joined Paris FC two years ago, and was highly regarded at the Ligue 2 club. They had been resisting offers for the youngster, but ultimately gave in to Chelsea’s offer.
The Blues apparently made three bids, worth €500k, €750k and finally, €1m with a percentage of a future sale — quite a steep price for a 16-year-old who hadn’t signed a professional contract yet. Moreover, the youngster himself pushed for the move as well, rejecting Paris FC’s professional contract offer as well as their offers of a spot on the senior team as the third-choice goalkeeper.
Tlemcani will likely join Chelsea’s U-18 squad, currently managed by Ed Brand, and will compete with Prince Adegoke and Kelechi Chibueze for the spot of the starting GK, which should also free up Lucas Bergström to deputize for Karlo Žiger in the U-23 team.
— Chelsea Youth (@chelseayouth) October 6, 2020