PHOTO: Chelsea’s New Starlet Striker Thierno Ballo Poses With Shirt at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea have confirmed the signing of 16-year-old striking prodigy Thierno Ballo from west German side Viktoria Koln this week.

Ballo - who turned 16 on Tuesday - has now signed a scholarship deal with the defending champions and will become part of the academy. 

The Guinean born Austrian has previously played for Chelsea's youth side in friendlies and showed glimpses of his immense promise last season, scoring five in his outfit's 6-1 rout over West Ham.

In a Facebook post, Ballo announced his official move to Chelsea with an image of himself holding up a number 10 shirt at Stamford Bridge.

The striker's adviser Peter Huemerlehner, revealed in an interview with Laola 1 (via Metro): 

"We narrowed down a few clubs and looked closely at not just the infrastructure but also the work in training, and Chelsea made the best impression."

Ballo began his career in Austria with SC Chemie Linz and boasts a staggering 200 goals in two years with the club. He then made the step up to Bayer Leverkusen's youth side before joining up with Viktoria Koln last year. The speedy forward impressed there too, netting seven in 25 league appearances for the U17s.

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The starlet has amazingly already secured a lucrative sponsorship deal with adidas despite his age and also has 22 international youth goals to his name, with his talents earning him a spot in the U17s at the age of 14.