Chelsea FC and Aston Villa are certainly doing deals with each other this summer! For the most part, it has been a boring transfer window so far, but Stamford Bridge and Villa Park have been busy providing much of what little action that we have seen so far. Omari Kellyman is headed from Villa to Chelsea.
In a separate deal, Ian Maatsen is going the other way.
?? Omari Kellyman to Chelsea, here we go! Deal in place also on player side after club to club agreement with Villa.
Verbal agreement on £19m fee.
Contract until 2030 plus +1 year option.
2005 born talent to join #CFC in separate deal from Maatsen, medical booked on Monday. pic.twitter.com/4HLW7EJ8xj
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 23, 2024
Don’t be surprised if Jhon Duran makes the switch too. Here’s a link to the latest on that. For now though, let’s focus on Omari Kellyman.
The 18-year-old attacking midfielder, who switched his international affiliation from Northern Ireland to England, will have his medical for the southwest London club tomorrow.
The promising teenager and Derby County youth system product moves over on a deal that will cost the club about 20 million quid. By Chelsea standards that is not a lot of money.
Although the Bridge is going to be a bit more fiscally restrained this summer, due to financial concerns. We may see more deals like this Kellyman arrangement.
And what’s really great about this summer transfer window transaction is that it is not a “saga.” Refreshingly, it kind of just happened, without a lot of advance buildup.
It is the polar opposite of the soap opera that surrounded Paris Saint-Germain and now Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe.
While Declan Rice to Arsenal, Mason Mount to Manchester United and Christian Pulisic to AC Milan were all also long, tedious sagas, they still didn’t have as much drama as that overly drawn out narrative.
This deal was nothing like that.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.