Chelsea are set to cash in on another academy graduate with Conor Gallagher on the verge of leaving the Blues for Atletico Madrid.
It continues a recent trend that has seen the West Londoners sell on their Cobham-produced players, with head coach Enzo Maresca admitting recently that the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules incentivise the sale of academy players.
As Gallagher prepares to join the exodus, we’ve ranked the five highest fees Chelsea have received for academy players.
Another Chelsea academy player heads for the exit ???? pic.twitter.com/g5r3mkwqFb
— B/R Football (@brfootball) August 5, 2024
5. Fikayo Tomori – £25m (AC Milan)
A member of the Chelsea youth team that won consecutive FA Youth Cup and UEFA Youth League doubles, Tomori was handed his first-team breakthrough under Frank Lampard in 2019-20.
He made 22 appearances in all competitions but fell out of favour the following campaign before joining AC Milan on loan.
A positive impression led to the Rossoneri making that move permanent for a fee of £25m and the centre-back has become an integral part of the set-up at the San Siro. He was named in the Serie A Team of the Season in 2021-22 as Milan were crowned Italian champions. Despite his success in Italy, he has struggled to break into the England set-up and has won just five caps.
4. Lewis Hall – £28m (Newcastle)
Newcastle have turned Lewis Hall’s loan move into a permanent deal this summer, paying an initial fee of £28m that could rise to £35m with add-ons.
The versatile teenager made 22 appearances for the Magpies in 2023-24, scoring twice, and signs permanently for the side he supported as a child. Hall was named Chelsea’s Academy Player of the Season in 2022-23 but made just 12 senior appearances for the Blues.
3. Ian Maatsen – £33m (Aston Villa)
Ian Maatsen is another academy product shipped off this summer with the Dutchman signing for Aston Villa for a fee of £33m.
The full-back joined Chelsea from PSV Eindhoven as a 16-year-old before progressing through the Cobham ranks. Loan spells in the lower leagues preceded a temporary switch to Borussia Dortmund last term, where Maatsen helped the German side reach the Champions League final and was named in the Team of the Tournament.
He will now get another crack at Europe’s elite after joining Aston Villa, who secured a shock top-four finish in the Premier League last season.
2. Tammy Abraham – £34m (Roma)
Tammy Abraham’s impressive goal record was not enough to earn him first-choice status at Chelsea with the forward departing for Roma in 2021.
Abraham had scored 32 goals in 80 games and twice finished as Chelsea’s top scorer but a £34m bid from Italy persuaded the Blues to sell the striker.
He made an immediate impact with 27 goals in his debut season as Roma won the Europa Conference League but has struggled since with an ACL injury decimating his 2023-24 campaign. He has been linked with leaving Roma after Artem Dovbyk’s arrival in the Italian capital this summer, though it’s unlikely that Chelsea will activate their buy-back clause.
1. Mason Mount – £55m (Manchester United)
Mason Mount is the most expensive Chelsea sale produced in the club’s academy after leaving for Manchester United last summer.
A firm fans’ favourite after his first-team breakthrough, Mount won Chelsea’s Player of the Season award in 2020-21 and 2021-22, with the first of those seasons ending in Champions League success.
Mason Mount’s farewell to the Chelsea fans. pic.twitter.com/8hYQasX6P3
— CFC-Blues (@CFCBlues_com) July 4, 2023
The midfielder made 195 appearances for the West Londoners, scoring 33 goals, but was allowed to move on after Chelsea reinforced their midfield with the big-money signings of Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo.
Mount has failed to justify his price tag to date after an injury-hit debut season at Manchester United.
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