Chelsea risk Musiala 2.0 with wonderkid transfer policy

Cameron Smith

• 9 Jun 2024 17:30 BST
• 6 min read

Chelsea’s wonderkid transfer policy could have a catastrophic effect on their own homegrown stars and the Blues now risk losing ‘the next Jamal Musiala.’

Since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital’s arrival in 2022, Chelsea have largely focused on signing the best young talents in world football and they have exclusively purchased players aged 25 or under over the past 18 months.

Deivid Washington, Andrey Santos, Angelo Gabriel, David Datro Fofana and Cesare Casadei have all arrived with extremely limited first-team experience, while the Blues’ high-profile signings have also been young players, namely Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia and Cole Palmer.

READ MORE: Premier League summer transfers 2024 - All the Done Deals

Estevao Willian is expected to become the latest wonderkid to join Chelsea, with the Blues agreeing a deal to sign the Brazilian teenager from Palmieras. Pedro Lima is also set to sign for Chelsea, although he will join Strasbourg first, while Kendry Paez will arrive in 2025.

With Estevao joining, Chelsea will have a serious abundance of attacking options capable of playing off the right flank.

Noni Madueke, Raheem Sterling, Angelo, Omari Hutchinson and Palmer are already at the club, Estevao and Paez are set to join within the next 12 months, and Michael Olise is a key transfer target.

READ MORE: Who is Rio Ngumoha? The 'next Musiala' set for Chelsea stardom

The left flank is far less populated, but the number 10 position is highly competitive too; Carney Chukwuemeka, Christopher Nkunku, Conor Gallagher and Palmer are all options.

Although Chelsea fans will be excited by their club signing an abundance of talented young forwards, they could be set for another Musiala situation with talented 15-year-old Rio Ngumoha.

Jamal Musiala 2.0?

Musiala came through Chelsea’s illustrious academy, but he opted to leave the club to join Bayern Munich at the age of 17, largely due to the promise of a first-team pathway at the Allianz Arena.

Chelsea now face a similar problem with Ngumoha, who has been consistently compared to Musiala over the past year.

According to The Secret Scout, the Blues have a significant battle on their hands to keep Ngumoha in their ranks. The teenager is being followed by a number of clubs due to the fact his contract expires this summer.

In addition, AcademyScoop has revealed that Ngumoha is actively pushing to leave Chelsea, with Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Newcastle United and Bayern Munich all keen.

Ngumoha is regarded as one of England’s top talents and Chelsea could deeply regret not providing a pathway to the first-team for him. The memory of Musiala leaving will still be a sore subject for those in charge at Cobham and the Blues should be wary of letting history repeat itself with Ngumoha.