Soccer

Transfer news: Chelsea sign teenager Carney Chukwuemeka

Barcelona’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is also on their radar as Everton make a bid for Amadou Onana

Chelsea have won the race to sign Aston Villa's young midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka. Photograph: PA

Andy Hunter
Fabrizio Romano
David Hytner
Thu Aug 4 2022 - 13:51

Everton have matched West Ham’s €40m (£33.5m) bid for Amadou Onana in a late attempt to hijack David Moyes’s move for the Lille midfielder.

West Ham had their offer accepted by the French club and are due to discuss personal terms with the Belgium international. But Everton have also met Lille’s asking price for the 20-year-old — an initial €35m plus €5m in add-ons — and the indications are Onana would favour a move to Goodison Park.

Everton’s manager, Frank Lampard, is keen to sign two midfielders and the club have held talks over re-signing Idrissa Gana Gueye from Paris Saint-Germain.

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Chelsea are considering a move for Barcelona’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The former Arsenal player is on their shortlist of forward targets, with RB Salzburg’s Benjamin Sesko among others. Discussions have been held with Aubameyang’s representatives but no bid has been made.

Chelsea have stepped up their pursuit of Wesley Fofana by making a £60m offer for the defender, which has been rejected by Leicester. Chelsea are expected to make a further push for Fofana, who is understood to want the move. Leicester’s stance is that he is not for sale.

Carney Chukwuemeka has completed his £20m move from Aston Villa to Chelsea, signing a six-year contract on Thursday morning. The 18-year-old midfielder underwent his medical on Wednesday, after the clubs had agreed the fee on Tuesday.

A host of other clubs wanted Chukwuemeka after he made clear to Villa he would not renew his deal — it was scheduled to expire next June. Most of the elite in England and Germany made inquiries, although Barcelona and Milan had led the race until the middle of last week.

But Chelsea, with the co-owner Todd Boehly driving negotiations, moved quickly and, when they met Villa’s asking price, the other details fell into place. Chukwuemeka, who made 14 Premier League appearances for Villa — two in the starting team — is best known for his technical and creative qualities.

Barcelona have agreed to sell the goalkeeper Neto to Bournemouth. The 33-year-old, who has one Brazil cap, has been at Barcelona for the past three seasons, after joining from Valencia, but has made only 21 appearances.

Bournemouth are also pursuing the Feyenoord centre back Marcos Senesi. The 25-year-old, who made his Argentina debut this year, is one of their top targets. — Guardian

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