Chelsea made one addition on deadline day, bringing in midfielder Mathis Amougou from St Etienne for a fee of around £12m. The 19-year-old France youth international has made 17 appearances in Ligue 1 this season and has now signed an eight-year contract with Chelsea.
Amougou is a steely midfielder in the mould of Moises Caicedo. He can get box-to-box, drive forward with the ball and offers tremendous athleticism. Chelsea believe he has a big future in the game.
Amougou will now acclimatise at Cobham and add midfield cover, especially with Romeo Lavia sidelined. However, the long-term plan is to send him to Chelsea’s sister-club Strasbourg next season.
Santos Will be Part of Chelsea’s Plans in Summer
They hope Amougou can follow similar path
Current Strasbourg loanee Andrey Santos will return to Chelsea this summer and be part of first-team plans, with the hope Amougou can follow a similar path to the Brazilian.
20-year-old Santos is enjoying a breakthrough season with Strasbourg, having scored seven goals in 19 Ligue 1 games. He has eight goals and two assists in all competitions having been given freedom from Strasbourg manager Liam Rosenior to get forwards.
There was no temptation to recall Santos in January because Chelsea feel a full season with Strasbourg, playing every week, is best for his development. However, the plan is for Santos to be a key part of Chelsea’s midfield next season. Bayern Munich are tracking his progress, but Chelsea will not be open to offers this summer.
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Andrey Santos’ Ligue 1 statistics – Strasbourg squad ranking |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stats |
Output |
Squad rank |
|
Appearances |
19 |
1st |
|
Goals |
7 |
2nd |
|
Key Passes Per Game |
0.9 |
=3rd |
|
Through Balls Per Game |
0.2 |
=2nd |
|
Match rating |
7.33 |
1st |
Chelsea also have goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic at Strasbourg, who has impressed this season playing in a similar system to Chelsea. However, the Serbian international is still likely to leave Chelsea this summer despite his strong form. That’s because highly-rated 19-year-old keeper Mike Penders, who stands at 6ft 7in, will arrive from Genk and there remains faith in Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen. If Petrovic does return to Chelsea, his wage automatically increases as part of a clause in his contract.
American left-back Caleb Wiley was also at Strasbourg for the first half of this season, but was recalled this winter and sent to Watford. With Santos returning, and Petrovic expected to depart, Chelsea can again consider sending three players to Strasbourg next season. Along with Amougou, it is possible Argentine centre-back Aaron Anselmino heads to Ligue 1.
Chelsea Looked at Nico O’Reilly
Man City were reluctant to sell
Amaogou wasn’t the only young midfielder Chelsea looked at in this window. 19-year-old attacking midfielder Nico O’Reilly was also firmly on Chelsea’s radar. O’Reilly, who can also play up front, made his senior Manchester City debut in the 2024 Community Shield win over Manchester United and scored his first goal for the club last month in the FA Cup victory over League 2 side Salford City.
Manchester City were reluctant to sell, and insisted on a buy-back clause to progress talks. Chelsea were unwilling to agree to one and as a result the deal never advanced.