Chelsea told to pull plug on £20m new signing after agreement reached – Agbonlahor
Gabby Agbonlahor has insisted Chelsea should steer clear of signing Under-18 players in favour of signing a ready-made marquee striker this summer.
The former Aston Villa striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, claimed Todd Boehly will have built a “perfect” squad capable of challenging if a prolific number nine is signed.
This site revealed on 27 February that Chelsea have reached a deal in principle to sign Ecuadorian 15-year-old Kendry Paez after a £20million package was accepted – just the latest of a number of young talents set to join the Blues.
Youngsters Carney Chukwuemeka, Andrey Santos, Gabriel Slonina and Jimmy-Jay Morgan have already joined the Stamford Bridge club for big-money fees this season as part of a recruitment drive from club owner Boehly.
But the senior Chelsea side are struggling for results after an overhaul this season, and sit 11 points outside the Premier League’s top four with 12 games remaining.
Forward Kai Havertz is the club’s top scorer in the Premier League – with just six goals.
Agbonlahor told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “I don’t think they need to spend money on these young players.
“The squad they’ve got is already young enough – most of them have five or six years until they’re in their prime.
“I just feel that it’s a waste of time to go out and spend money on players who are 15, 16, 17 or 18.
“By the time they come through, Chelsea could be playing a completely different system or they could have bought a load of new players in those positions and they’ll never get a look in.
“They should be putting all their effort and funds into signing an experienced striker.
“If they get that, you look at that squad – it’s perfect. It should be challenging for years and years to come.”
In other news, Football Insider updates as Chelsea star drops clearest exit hint yet.