Chelsea Transfers

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EXCL: Chelsea confident in transfer policy as they eye two more elite-level wonderkid signings

Chelsea have their next two superstars in their sights...

https://thedailybriefing.io/p/Chelsea-wonderkid-transfers

 

Chelsea are increasingly confident that their transfer policy of the last few years is proving fruitful as Enzo Maresca’s side challenge for the Premier League title.

The Blues are just six points behind league leaders Arsenal and were unlucky not to win against the Gunners despite being down to ten men for much of Sunday’s game at Stamford Bridge.

Players like Estevao Willian have been a huge success for Chelsea, while Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez also continue to improve all the time, justifying the big investment made in them when they were still relatively unproven youngsters.

I can also reveal two exciting new names on Chelsea’s list of targets as they look to continue recruiting wonderkids for their long-term project.

Two players of strong interest to Chelsea at the moment are Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, and Metz striker Brian Madjo.

Who are Chelsea’s new transfer targets Ayyoub Bouaddi and Brian Madjo?

Bouaddi is not exactly an unearthed gem at this point, with the 18-year-old French midfielder already making 72 appearances for Lille’s senior side since making his debut in the 2023/24 season.

As I’ve previously reported here, Bouaddi is also highly regarded by Manchester United and will be one to watch on their list of transfer targets in the near future, while others around Europe are also well aware of him now.

Sources in the industry are now increasingly talking up Chelsea, particularly with BlueCo also having Strasbourg as an ideal next stepping stone for him in Ligue 1.

“Bouaddi has attracted interest from several European clubs, and Chelsea are one of them,” one source with knowledge of the club’s plans told me. “Chelsea’s interest is strengthened by their ownership link with Strasbourg, which could allow the player to continue his development in France while staying under close watch. This pathway is seen as an ideal plan to make the transition to the Premier League smoother.”

Sources were keen to stress, however, that there have not yet been any concrete negotiations over Bouaddi, or any offers made to Lille.

As for Madjo, the 16-year-old Metz forward who has represented England and Luxembourg at youth level, Chelsea figures supposedly see him as “a project worth investing in”, with the talented teenager already a tall and imposing central striker who could have a big future in the Premier League due to his characteristics.

“As usual, Chelsea will feel confident they can lure talents like Bouaddi and Madjo in with the promise of long-term contracts, as we’ve seen become the norm under this ownership,” my source added.

[mkh 648]

🔵Emanuel Emegha's official statement 

I accept and understand the club's decision to suspend me for this weekend.

'm 22 vears old, I've made mistakes and I know I still have a lot to learn. And I have to learn from that. I know I have to do better, and I will do better, on and off the field to represent the club. It's important to me.

I want to make it clear that I never wanted to hurt anyone. Ever since I arrived here at the age of 19, I have always given everything for Strasbourg. I'm proud to play for Racing and I'm proud to wear the captain's armband.

Everyone knows that it was not easy for me here at the beginning It was a big challenge for me to succeed in Strasbourg. But I kept working harc every day to get there.

Last weekend when I entered the field, it was the biggest emotion I had as a Strasbourg player. The applause when I entered, the children cheering me during the warm-up... it really touched me Thank vou from the bottom of my heart.

I had a long conversation with President Marc Keller. I thank him for his advice. He knows how much 1 love this club and how much I work everv day. I also want to thank all my teammates and staff, coach Liam Rosenior, sporting director David Weir, and everyone around the team. They see me every day, they know how I am and how I work.

Sometimes my words can be misunderstood, especially if people don't know me. But one thing is certain, have maximum respect for Strasbourg, for Alsace, for Meinau, for our supporters, for my teammates and for the whole club.

[milka 3,406]

Add two or three top elite players like GK , CB and ST to the squads and attack the title next year .

[nyikolajevics 2,753]

1 hour ago, mkh said:

🔵Emanuel Emegha's official statement 

I accept and understand the club's decision to suspend me for this weekend.

'm 22 vears old, I've made mistakes and I know I still have a lot to learn. And I have to learn from that. I know I have to do better, and I will do better, on and off the field to represent the club. It's important to me.

I want to make it clear that I never wanted to hurt anyone. Ever since I arrived here at the age of 19, I have always given everything for Strasbourg. I'm proud to play for Racing and I'm proud to wear the captain's armband.

Everyone knows that it was not easy for me here at the beginning It was a big challenge for me to succeed in Strasbourg. But I kept working harc every day to get there.

Last weekend when I entered the field, it was the biggest emotion I had as a Strasbourg player. The applause when I entered, the children cheering me during the warm-up... it really touched me Thank vou from the bottom of my heart.

I had a long conversation with President Marc Keller. I thank him for his advice. He knows how much 1 love this club and how much I work everv day. I also want to thank all my teammates and staff, coach Liam Rosenior, sporting director David Weir, and everyone around the team. They see me every day, they know how I am and how I work.

Sometimes my words can be misunderstood, especially if people don't know me. But one thing is certain, have maximum respect for Strasbourg, for Alsace, for Meinau, for our supporters, for my teammates and for the whole club.

"Strasbourg striker Emanuel Emegha, who has a deal lined up to join Chelsea next summer, has been suspended for their game against Toulouse this week by his club after giving an international break interview where he jokes that he had signed for them thinking they were based in Germany." 

😂

They suspend him because of this? Strasbourg is on the German border, perhaps he pulled a sensitive string with this one? I don't really get it..

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https://football-observatory.com/WeeklyPost524

Thanks to data meticulously collected by our partner Impect, this Weekly Post presents the U23 players from 52 leagues around the world who are most skilled at advancing their team's play with passes towards the opposition's goal*. The study reveals the extraordinary abilities of Belgium’s Jorne Spileers, who completes an average of 11.8 ‘progressive’ passes per 90 minutes, with a record success rate of 84% and a progression index of 100.

 

Two other centre backs complete the podium: Spain’s Dean Huijsen (Real Madrid) and Portugal’s António Silva (Benfica). Fourth, Norway's Häkon Volden (Rosenborg) is the youngest player in the top 10 (18.5 years). Two other players under the age of 20 feature in the overall top 10: Gambia's Abubacarr Sedi Kinteh (Tromsø) and France's full international Warren Zaïre-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain).

Among wide backs, the top three are Álvaro Carreras (Real Madrid), Michal Gurgul (Lech Poznań) and Joaquin Seys (Club Bruges), with Luca Bombino (San Diego) being the youngest in the top 50. For midfielders, Jack McGlynn (Houston Dynamo) leads the way ahead of Warren Zäire-Emery (PSG) and Amadou Koné (Neom SC). The youngest midfielder in the top 50 is Argentina's Álvaro Montoro (Botafogo).

* At least 30 meters if starting and finishing position in own half, 15 meters if in different halves and 10 meters if in opponent half.

Best U23 players, progression index

Domestic league matches, current or last completed season until 01/12/2025.
Data: Impect.

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On 20/11/2025 at 18:51, mkh said:

🔵According from Africafoot,

Chelsea has already set its sights on the young Malian star Seydou Dembélé.

The Blues' management was really impressed by the young player's enormous talent, which they had already heard about, and, according to our sources in the Kingdom of Morocco, made an initial offer of €1.6 million to sign him.

Seydou Dembélé

17 years old, JMG Académié Bamako & Mali

Go find clips of Seydou Dembélé and you’ll be thoroughly entertained. He plays like a kid on a school playground: uninhibited, imaginative, brimming with skill and personality. He does things that genuinely take your breath away. His highlight reel from the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar is jam-packed with such moments.

Mali rock up to every edition with another exciting bunch of players, and Dembélé was the pick of the bunch for me. The 17-year-old notched two goals and four assists in five games before Mali were knocked out by Morocco. It was an impressive follow up tournament to his outstanding showing at the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations earlier in the year.

Just look at this…

The imagination and execution on that pass is ridiculous. He sees the picture quickly, and the decision to chop down on the ball – generating a spin that zips it on the slick turf but holds it in the path of the striker’s run – is inspired. That’s the type of thing that will stick in my head for a worryingly long time.

He loves to get on the ball between lines, drifting off the right wing to open up angles on his left foot. His heat map from the FIFA U-17 World Cup exemplifies the in-between spaces he takes up.

He buzzes between lines, always demanding the ball, and causes damage as a shooter, crosser and passer. He has a canny knack of slipping past defenders with the ball at his feet, bending his dribbles and finding zippy combinations that cut through blocks. The obvious concern with him is his size: short, slight, flimsy, he appears some way off being able to handle the rigours of senior football at a high level – but he is remarkably good at avoiding contact altogether.

What comes next? Well, Dembélé is a graduate of the prestigious JMG Académié in Bamako, a system that has developed countless top-flight players and senior internationals. Many of them transferred through Red Bull Salzburg, and that move makes plenty of sense for Dembélé. They have proven time and time again to be the perfect entry point to European football for African talent. But he may skip that step entirely, such is his profile, particularly with Chelsea and now Manchester United credited with a credible interest.

He will make the leap to Europe when he turns 18 years old next February.