Chelsea are facing a massive academy exodus with several of their best young prospects contemplating moves elsewhere. Among those are Marc Guehi and Tammy Abraham, who are attracting interest from other London clubs.
After two golden years for the Chelsea academy, the project once again finds itself on the fringes, with several key personnel now believing their futures lie elsewhere. The memory of Mason Mount, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Reece James, Billy Gilmour, and more breaking into the first team remains fresh, but if reports are to be believed, it will likely be looked back as an exception, not a rule.
Reports emerged earlier this week, some of Chelsea’s young talents are looking to move away from the club. Among those was Academy Player of the Year 2020/21 Tino Livramento – who Thomas Tuchel included in his matchday squad a few times. Alongside Livramento, academy stars Lewis Bate, and Myles Peart-Harris are also said to be evaluating their options.
However, there are some more prominent academy graduates being linked with moves away from the club. Guehi – who has spent the last one-and-a-half season on loan at Swansea City – is nearing a permanent move to Crystal Palace.
The Athletic reports that Palace presented Chelsea with an offer of transfer fees, a sell-on clause, and the right of first refusal – which the Blues found too good to turn down. Guehi will soon undergo a medical before being officially unveiled as a new Palace player.
More concerning news for Chelsea fans, however, is that Arsenal seem to be keen on striker Abraham. The Englishman broke through alongside the likes of Mount and James under Frank Lampard and, despite playing very few minutes under Tuchel last season, is Chelsea’s leading scorer over the last two seasons.
Abraham was left out of Tuchel’s squad for the Champions League final, signalling that the German doesn’t see the striker as a part of his plans. The price reported in the media for Abraham is around 40 million pounds.
