Chelsea could look to sign another teenager next year, but they may have to see off competition from Manchester United to land his signature.
In the summer, Chelsea signed 19-year-old Jorrel Hato from Ajax, while 18-year-old Estevao Willian arrived from Palmeiras.
Estevao has impressed the Brazilian media, as well as those in England, with his performances this season.
The winger and Hato could soon be joined by another player in their age group if rumours are to be believed.
Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty ImagesChelsea tracking Red Bull Salzburg’s Kerim Alajbegovic
According to journalist Ben Heckner, Chelsea are monitoring Red Bull Salzburg youngster Kerim Alajbegovic.
However, Heckner has claimed that United and Porto are also watching the 18-year-old, while Bayer Leverkusen have a buy-back clause that they can activate to re-sign him.
It means that buying Alajbegovic may not be a straightforward task for Chelsea.
The former Leverkusen player has done well for both club and country this season. He has four goals in 11 league games for Salzburg and recently scored in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s World Cup qualifier against San Marino.
AS Trencin’s Sani Suleiman has also been linked to Chelsea and is still only a teenager as well, so it does not look like the Blues are going to stop at Estevao and Hato.
Photo by Jess Hornby/Getty ImagesWhere does Kerim Alajbegovic play?
Chelsea’s interest in the likes of Alajbegovic and Suleiman is quite peculiar despite their talent.
Both men are left wingers, with Alajbegovic playing there 38 times in his career, according to Transfermarkt.
In the summer, Chelsea bought Alejandro Garnacho and Jamie Gittens, who are also left-sided attackers and are not too much older than Alajbegovic.
Enzo Maresca would not be able to keep all of those players happy, but there is nothing stopping Chelsea from buying and selling. Under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, that has been one aspect of their transfer strategy.
They bought Noni Madueke from PSV Eindhoven in 2023 before selling him to Arsenal for a profit in July.