Report: Chelsea close to signing 18-year-old starlet who was ‘of interest’ to Spurs

Chelsea are set to seal a deal of £19 million for Aston Villa’s Omari Kellyman after his valuation scared Tottenham off.

Tottenham were interested in Omari Kellyman

Tottenham are likely to make some movements in the transfer market this summer for a central midfielder with a number of senior midfielders underwhelming this season, running out of contract or rumoured to be seeking a move elsewhere.

After widely reported interest last summer, the Daily Mail has reported that Atletico Madrid have ‘rekindled their interest’ in signing Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

Other midfielders linked with a move away are Giovanni Lo Celso who has according to Estadio Deportivo ‘maintained contacts’ with his former club, Real Betis amid whispers of a summer return to the club.

Football.London has also revealed that academy product, Oliver Skipp, is ‘keen to get regular game time next season, even if that means heading out of Tottenham’.

One of the strongest suggestions of who could go to someway of improving the changing Tottenham midfield is Connor Gallagher, with The Telegraph claiming Spurs are, with Aston Villa ‘at the front of the queue to sign Gallagher’.

Chelsea win the race for Omari Kellyman

Kellyman, who has only played for 35 league minutes for Villa (TransferMarkt), was a player who was ‘of interest’ for Tottenham as well as fellow top-flight sides, Brighton and West Ham, according to TBR Football.

However, it appears as though Chelsea were the side with the most passion about signing the player as they are set to sign the midfielder, who can also play further up the field, with the Standard revealing that the player was ‘due for his Chelsea medical’ on Monday (24/6/24).

TBR Football also revealed that once Tottenham had found out that Chelsea would be willing to pay the rumoured fee of £19 million, Levy and the club ‘backed away from the deal’.

Kellyman is now set to be the next of Todd Boley’s bucketload of young signings, whilst pocketing Aston Villa, who are, like Chelsea reportedly in FFP trouble, a large fee. (Villa News)

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The club will likely need to invest in a new midfielder, with myself even writing in an article recently that defensive midfield could go a long way to aiding Postecoglou’s attempts to stop the team from leaking goals.

Kellyman, despite playing further forward, would be a welcome addition to the squad considering his seven goals in eleven PL2 games, but as is the routine for Chelsea now, it seems as though the price they are paying is likely to be largely disproportionate to the real value of the player.

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