Chelsea are set to open talks with Nathaniel Chalobah for a new contract and are close to agreeing a new deal with Dominic Solanke.
Nathaniel Chalobah was earmarked for great things in the future during his time in the Chelsea youth ranks and was expected to one day break into the first team squad. But, after 6 different loan spells at six different clubs in Watford, Nottingham Forest, Middlesbrough, Burnley, Reading and most recently Napoli, his Chelsea future looked bleak.
But now, according to Mirror, the Blues are set to begin talks with the Chelsea academy graduate over a new deal, after having impressed manager Antonio Conte.
The 21-year-old impressed at Watford, but never managed to hold on to a spot at any of the other temporary destinations except Reading. At Napoli last season, he made a mere 9 appearances for them over the course of the entire campaign, getting one goal. He only made his Serie A debut in January 2016 and would go on to make only 5 League appearances in total after that.
Chelsea rejected loan offers from Sevilla, Napoli and Leicester City among other clubs and chose to retain him after Antonio Conte was impressed by him during their pre-season tour. The England U21-international made over a 103 senior appearances for various clubs before eventually being handed his Chelsea debut last month against Leicester City in the EFL Cup tie.
He has since made 2 more appearances and is expected to break into the first team in the near future after getting his Chelsea career back on track by producing glimpses of his brilliance like the back-heel assist recorded against the defending champions Leicester City last weekend, a display that saw the fans singing praises of his ability.
Dominic Solanke, after a stellar 2014/15 season in Chelsea’s youth ranks was loaned out to Vitesse Arnhem like many others in the hopes that he would come back a more experienced and a better player. After 27 appearances, 7 goals and 1 assist, Solanke returned to Cobham after a season that could be termed average in terms of statistics, but given the fact that he is still only 19, those numbers show a great deal of promise.
It was reported earlier in the summer that Solanke had made exorbitant wage demands for a new contract, rumoured to be around £50,000, double the current reported figure. That demand was outright rejected by Chelsea and they even threatened to demote him to the youth ranks should he refuse to agree to their terms. It was also reported that Arsenal were looking to capitalise on this fallout and swoop in for the talented youngster.
Now, The Times have reported that the Blues are close to agreeing a new deal with the English teenager after the player considerably lowered his wage demands. The report states that he would be willing to settle for around £25,000 per-week in order to stay at the club. Solanke is yet to start for the Blues this season, but was named in the squad for Leicester City, fuelling speculation that maybe an agreement was near.
