Chelsea already own 19-year-old wonderkid BETTER than Palmer
Tom Weber
- 24 Nov 2023 03:24 CST
- 3 min read
Chelsea are keeping a close eye on Habib Diarra at sister club Strasbourg, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The 19-year-old midfielder has emerged as a standout talent in Ligue 1 and the Alsatians, who came under BlueCo ownership earlier this year, have now tied the youngster down to a new deal until 2028 in a bid to ward off interest.
Diarra, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, has attracted the attention of Borussia Dortmund, Wolves and Paul Pogba-less Juventus, but the new contract should deter some of his suitors or at least that is Strasbourg's hope. One club that won't be discouraged by this news is Chelsea, of course.
As the crown jewel of what is bound to become Todd Boehly's and BlueCo's football empire, Chelsea will surely get the right of first refusal on any high-potential players coming through at associated sides. Indeed, according to Romano, the Blues are closely monitoring Diarra's development and he is, technically, already owned by them.
How good is Diarra?
This shouldn't come as a surprise as Diarra is quickly becoming one of Ligue 1's most sought-after midfielders. A product of Strasbourg's academy, the 19-year-old is a relentless box-to-box machine who scores particularly well in terms of ball retention and defensive awareness, according to data experts SciSports.
Intriguingly, Diarra is higher rated by the SciSports algorithm than Cole Palmer, both in terms of his current level and in terms of potential, though this ought to be taken with a pinch of salt as the two feature in very different positions.
Nevertheless, it is quite stark how much more SciSports rates Diarra than Palmer, with the former's potential a whopping 30 points ahead of the latter's as per the program's scoring system. Diarra is also higher rated than another one of Chelsea's young summer arrivals, namely Lesley Ugochukwu.
