Official: Juventus beat Bayern Munich, Ajax, others to highly-rated Chelsea starlet

Juventus have completed the signing of Samuel Iling-Junior following his departure from Chelsea.

The Serie A giants pinched 16-year-old after his Chelsea youth contract expired.

The Blues had hoped to extend his deal as he was a regular for their Under-18s and earned England U17 caps.

Goal report that Chelsea were reluctant to lose Iling-Junior and offered him the chance to sign his first professional contract at Stamford Bridge, but his head was turned when the reigning Serie A champions registered their interest back in May.

But Iling-Junior has instead opted for the Italian giants.

The England youth international winger will continue his development at the Allianz Stadium after leaving Stamford Bridge over the weekend

Iling-Junior was unveiled alongside France U-17 international Felix Nzouango, who agreed a deal to join Juve from French outfit Amiens earlier this summer.

He was first linked with a Chelsea exit in February, with Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain both keen on him.

The teenage winger confirmed his exit in a heartfelt post on social media on Sunday, which read: “Full of vast emotions, being at Chelsea from such a young age has truly built me, not only as the player I am today but also as a person.

“It’s been a blessed journey and I’m deeply thankful for all those in the Academy. From the groundsmen, kitchen staff, players, coaches, the list goes on.

“I would also like to give thanks to the people around me, my family and friends who have consistently supported me.

“This is just the start. I wish Chelsea all the best for the seasons ahead.”

The likes of Bayern Munich, Ajax and Schalke had also been linked with Iling-Junior before he opted for Juve, having seen the talented youngster impress for Chelsea’s U-18 side last season.

Antonio Rudiger comments on his role in bringing Timo Werner, Kai Havertz to Chelsea

Antonio Rudiger has confirmed the role he played in convincing Timo Werner to join Chelsea this summer – and hopes to have had the same effect on Kai Havertz who is on the verge of joining the Blues.

Chelsea are set to pay an initial club record fee of £72m for the 21-year-old midfielder in a deal that will take their summer spending beyond £200m.

Havertz met up with the Germany squad in Stuttgart yesterday but his move to Stamford Bridge is edging closer to completion.

Rudiger is also with the national team squad and appeared confident of the Bayer Leverkusen star joining him in west London very soon.

“Everything went well with Timo Werner, so I made my contribution,” Rudiger said at a press conference on Tuesday ahead of Germany’s Nations League clashes with Spain and Switzerland.

“And I hope that it works again now [with Havertz].”

‘Agent Rudiger’ played a similar role earlier this summer when Chelsea were on the verge of signing Werner from RB Leipzig – with the striker later revealing the centre-half was key in his decision to head to London.

“There wasn’t really a better person I could talk to than him. I asked him what it’s like, what the environment is like, what the coach is like,” Werner said.

“He was positive about it all. It would have been strange for him to say different, though!

“He was full of praise. He said that the city was incredible and that you can only be happy there so it was useful to be able to talk to him, and he really helped me in making my decision.”

Thiago Silva’s agent reveals date Brazilian will join his Chelsea teammates for new season

Thiago Silva will soon be on the Chelsea training pitch with his new teammates following his move from Paris Saint-Germain.

Chelsea are now stepping up their preparations ahead of their Premier League opener against Brighton & Hove Albion and Lampard looks set to have Silva in the capital by the end of the week, according to Paulo Tonietto, the player’s agent.

His representative also believes that the highly-rated defender can play on for a further five or six years despite the fact that he turns 36 later this month, report football.london.

“He is on holiday in Italy, he will be in London between now and the end of the week,” he told French publication L’Equipe (via Get Football News France).

“He is happy to discover the Premier League. We had a lot of offers, but Chelsea are one of the world’s top 10 clubs.

“Physically, Thiago can play for another five or six years at the highest level.

“He is an athlete who looks after himself. He doesn’t drink, he doesn’t smoke, he doesn’t party. His life is home – work, work – home.”

Speaking of his move to west London, Silva told Chelsea’s official website: “I am so happy to be joining Chelsea. I am delighted to be a part of Frank Lampard’s exciting squad for next season and I’m here to challenge for honours.

“See you soon Chelsea fans, I look forward to playing at Stamford Bridge very soon.”

Chelsea place eye-watering price tag on N’Golo Kante as Antonio Conte seeks reunion

Chelsea have named their asking price for N’Golo Kante, slapping an eye-watering £80m price tag on the midfielder.

Conte is preparing to raid his former club for midfielder Kante, as well as left-back Emerson Palmieri and striker Olivier Giroud.

The Blues would be interested in recouping some of the money they have spent this summer.

They are therefore, according to The Express, are asking £80 million for Kante if he was to leave this summer.

Kai Havertz joins Timo Werner, Antonio Rudiger on international duty with Germany

Chelsea stars Timo Werner and Antonio Rudiger have joined the club’s prime target Kai Havertz ahead of Thursday’s match against Spain.

Werner is on international duty after bagging his first Blues goal in the friendly against Brighton.

He is joined by Bayer Leverkusen’s Kai Havertz who is expected to complete a deal to arrive at Stamford Bridge in the coming days.

Havertz was spotted training with the team.

Germany open their Nations League campaign with a home game against Spain in Stuttgart on 3 September before travelling to face Switzerland in Basel on 6 September.

Photo Credit: Twitter @ DFB_Team

REVEALED: Reason Thiago Silva rejected “a lot of offers” from rival clubs to join Chelsea

Thiago Silva’s agent has revealed the reason the Brazilian turned down “a lot of offers” from rival clubs to join Chelsea.

The 35-year-old signed a one-year deal with the club earlier last week after leaving Paris Saint-Germain at the end of his contract with the Ligue 1 giants.

Silva became Chelsea’s fifth signing of the summer, following the arrivals of Ben Chilwell, Timo Werner, Malang Sarr and Hakim Ziyech.

According to Paulo Tonietto, the veteran defender joined the west London club because they are in the ‘top 10’ teams in the world.

“He is on holiday in Italy, he will be in London between now and the end of the week,” Tonietto told L’Equipe as cited by the Metro.

“He is happy to discover the Premier League. We had a lot of offers, but Chelsea are one of the world’s top 10 clubs.

“Physically, Thiago can play for another 5 or 6 years at the highest level. He is an athlete who looks after himself. He doesn’t drink, he doesn’t smoke, he doesn’t party. His life is home – work, work – home.”