Romano confirms Chelsea's next wonderkid signing after Kellyman

Tom Weber

Updated: 29 Jun 2024 15:08 BST
3 min read

Chelsea are set to complete the signing of Aaron Anselmino, according to Fabrizio Romano.

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The Blues are closing in on yet another young talent. Already on Friday, it was reported that Chelsea were 'within touching distance' of striking a deal for Boca Juniors wonderkid Aaron Anselmino, and it seems that talks have massively progressed over the past 24 hours.

According to Romano, a deal is all but done with only a minor final detail left to be clarified. As previously reported, Chelsea will pay less than the 19-year-old's €24 million release clause, representing a very good deal for the Blues after their questionable signing of Omari Kellyman for a similar fee.

Unlike Kellyman, who was virtually unknown prior to Chelsea's pursuit for Profit and Sustainability reasons, Anselmino had other big-name suitors in England and further afield. The Blues will feel that they managed to pull off something of a coup, though they didn't get it all their way.

Anselmino to stay at Boca

According to Romano, Boca Juniors have succeeded in convincing Chelsea to allow them to keep the centre-back on loan until at least January 2025 or perhaps even for a full year.

This is a potential blow to BlueCo affiliate Strasbourg. On Friday, the expectation was still that Anselmino would be moved on to the Ligue 1 outfit after joining Chelsea, but this appears to no longer be the case.

It's the second piece of bad news as far as the Alsatians are concerned in their bid to strengthen their side. French media is reporting that Strasbourg are also set to miss out on 21-year-old attacker Matthis Abline, who has been the subject of a transfer tug-of-war.

The youngster spent the past season on loan at Nantes and they recently triggered their purchase option. However, parent club Stade Rennais then used their buy-back clause to re-sign him and they are now looking to shift him for a minor profit, with Nantes expected to beat Strasbourg to his signature.