Boehly explains plan for £20m signing as Aston Villa wonderkid agrees six-year deal with Chelsea
Chelsea have completed the signing of Carney Chukwuemeka, who has signed a six-year deal with the club after a £20m fee was agreed with Aston Villa.
Chukwuemeka was named in the team of the tournament earlier this summer as the the England U19s won the European Championships.
READ MORE: £20m Chelsea recruit Chukwuemeka 11th in top 10 most expensive Premier League teens
Those displays, as well as fleeting appearances under Steven Gerrard, caught the eye of a number of top clubs across Europe, including Barcelona and Liverpool.
Villa offered the 18-year-old a fresh deal, but reports suggest Chukwuemeka wanted £100,000 a week to stay at Villa Park.
Whether Chelsea have agreed to those demands is unclear, but they have won the race to sign him, with transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealing some of the details of the deal.
Along with a picture of Chukwuemeka signing his new deal, Romano tweeted: ‘Official. Carney Chukwuemeka has just agreed the terms of a six-year contract at Chelsea and completed his transfer from Aston Villa, club statement confirms.
‘Contract until June 2028, £15m fee plus £5m in add-ons.’
And Blues owner Todd Boehly confirmed that Chukwuemeka will be staying at Chelsea this summer, rather than heading out on loan.
Boehly said: “He’s one of the most exciting young players in Europe, we are delighted to add such a talented young individual to our squad for the new season and beyond.”
It’s the first time this summer’s transfer market that Chelsea have got the better of Barcelona, who hijacked their deals for Raphinha and Jules Kounde.
But things aren’t as fractured between the two clubs as they seem according to a report which claims Boehly has forged a ‘positive relationship’ with the La Liga club, which has seen them offered a trio of surplus players – Frenkie de Jong, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Memphis Depay.
Barcelona want all three off their books as they look to drastically decrease their wage bill ahead of the new season.
Barcelona are hoping that De Jong could instead be tempted by a move to Chelsea, who can offer him Champions League football, and a report on Thursday confirmed they had ‘granted permission’ to Chelsea to speak to De Jong directly.
That permission also appears to cover talks with Aubameyang, who could come in to replace Romelu Lukaku, and Depay, who would be a useful option if Chelsea lose either Timo Werner or Hakim Ziyech, both of whom have been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge this summer.
