Chelsea plan to send 'super talent' to Strasbourg to develop after winning transfer race
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Chelsea ownership group BlueCo have agreed to sign young Burkinabe midfielder Mohamed Zongo from Sporting Cascades, who will first join Strasbourg to develop, according to reports.
Earlier reports already claimed that Chelsea led the race to sign the 16-year-old Zongo, who also generated interest from the likes of Manchester United and Manchester City.
The attacking midfielder caught a lot of attention with his performance in the Under-17 World Cup held in Qatar in November, in which he pushed Burkina Faso to reach the quarter-finals.
He scored in the two knock-out stage matches against Germany in the round of 32 and against Uganda in the round of 16.
Fabrizio Romano has now claimed that Chelsea have won the race and reached an agreement with his current club Sporting Cascades, ahead of competition from English and German clubs.
Romano also added that BlueCo plan to send Zongo to Strasbourg first to develop in France, before eventually joining Chelsea.
That said, Zongo will likely have to wait until he turns 18 in November 2027 before moving to Europe, according to FIFA regulations.
"My understanding is that the contract is already signed," Romano said on his YouTube channel.
"Zongo and Deinner Ordonez are seen as super talents, not just profit players.
"They believe Zongo can be a Chelsea player in the future, absolutely, similar to Ordonez.
"Chelsea are delighted with this addition."
This is not a surprise move from Chelsea, who have been trying to acquire young raw talents in the last few years.
Andrey Santos and Estevao are among the few who have made it into Enzo Maresca's first-team squad.
Gerry Crisandy is a freelance writer who has covered Chelsea for many years. His work has been published on The Chelsea Chronicle and Pride of London. He grew up idolising Michael Ballack and is a firm believer in expected goals.