Chelsea have agreed on a £4 million fee with Everton for 17-year-old English defensive prodigy Ishi Samuels-Smith.
According to The Athletic, Chelsea have found an agreement with Everton to sign 17-year-old English defensive prodigy Ishi Samuels-Smith. The youngster will cost around £4 million and sign a three-year deal at Stamford Bridge, hoping to break into the first-team setup soon.
Chelsea are firm on their quest to bring some of the best young talents from around as they secure yet another rising star. Such has been the policy at the club since Todd Boehly took over last summer. Since the American’s arrival, they have paid good money to bring some of the top talents from everywhere, which has laid the groundwork for future sides.
So far, Chelsea have been relentless in pursuing young talents from the South American market, Santos’s Angelo Gabriel became their latest signing from there, and they have eyes for many other players for this window. However, they have switched their attention to the British market, with a new arrival imminent now.
Chelsea have agreed on a deal with Everton for Ishi Samuels-Smith and will pay £4 million for the 17-year-old English defensive prodigy. The teenager will sign a three-year deal at Stamford Bridge and will have his career path mapped out as he hopes to make a breakthrough into the first team in the coming years.
Samuels-Smith has represented England at the Under-15, Under-16, and Under-17 levels and was the only Englishman named in the UEFA team of the tournament at the UEFA under-17 European Championships earlier this summer. As for his time at the Toffees, he was named on the senior bench on two occasions, both losses to Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup and Aston Villa in March.
The 17-year-old English defensive prodigy is one of many players that Chelsea wanted in this window. They were chasing Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri, who has since signed a new deal at the Emirates. Losing the Gunners prodigy will have been a big blow to Chelsea and their future ambitions.
Last summer, they succeeded in signing Omari Hutchinson from Arsenal and Carney Chukwuemeka from Aston Villa. Both stars have since seen mixed fortunes at Stamford Bridge, although they could improve in the coming seasons.
As for Samuels-Smith, there is a promising season ahead, considering the quality he has shown at the levels played so far. In reality, there are only two ways to go about for a young prodigy at Chelsea; either become a star of the future or become a part of the vast loan army, as Andrey Santos could, which could have career ramifications.
