The youngster from AF Darou Salam was seen in the directors’ box during Tuesday night’s 4-2 penalty shootout victory against Newcastle for Chelsea.

Kendry Paez, a 16-year-old prodigy who has already inked a £17.2 million pre-contract to join Chelsea from Independiente del Valle in 2025, and Diong both saw Chelsea advance to the Carabao Cup semi-finals.The 17-year-old will be eligible to play for Chelsea on June 14, 2024, the day he turns 18.

This deal shows that Chelsea is serious about bringing in the top young footballers in the globe through their vast scouting network.

Despite the criticism directed at Mauricio Pochettino’s young first-team group, the west Londoners are set to keep signing teenagers.

Currently, BlueCo’s multi-club model only includes RC Strasbourg and Chelsea, but that should change in the future. Players like Diong might go on loan inside this model.

Manager Patrick Vieira is aiming to debut an all-Under-23 squad for Strasbourg.

Their January transfer budget, provided by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, is roughly £20 million, which they will use to acquire a number of players.

Why Arsenal have advantage over Chelsea in Ivan Toney transfer race as major roadblock revealed

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Toney is still one of Europe’s most sought-after marksmen, despite not having played a minute of Premier League football since May. Although he will be cleared to play on January 16, the England international will not be able to return to the Bees’ lineup until January 30, when they face Tottenham.

His current contract at the Gtech Community Stadium will have only 18 months left when that happens. According to reports, Brentford have apparently offered him a staggering £100 million, even though his contract is nearly up.

The January transfer window is almost here, and Thomas Frank is likely to be ready for offers. The Independent reports that Arsenal is now in the driver’s seat to recruit Toney.

In order to meet the requirements set down by Profit and Sustainability, the report claims that Chelsea must “make a number of sales” in January before they are allowed to make any more signings. The Blues have spent about £1 billiоn on new players since Todd Boehly bought the club in May 2022.

According to The Independent, Toney will also take Chelsea’s poor showing against Arsenal into account when making his decision. Supposedly, Mikel Arteta’s squad is his “preferred option” at the moment due to the prоspect of figҺting for the Premier League title this season.Jamie Redknapp is adamant that Boehly must acquire the Brentford star regardless of the cost, even though the west Londoners might not be able to provide Toney a chance at the English Premier League crown or even Champions League participation.

In an interview with Sky Sports after Chelsea’s quarterfinal victory over Newcastle, the ex-Liverpool midfielder stated: “When I watch Chelsea at the moment, there are still more questions than answers. Despite spending a billiоn pounds, that team still lacks a starting quarterback, in my opinion.

Until they do, I will not give Chelsea my full attention. Something monumental is amiss in that domain. They have some talented wide players, but they are missing a number nine and a goal scorer, and I don’t see them winning anything until they get one.

They are not easy to come by. Looking at strikers, Ivan Toney is clearly one you’ll go for, but how much will he cost? They’re a rare breed, so you won’t see many of them, but that’s just what they require.