Catching Them Young and Younger Yet
The sensational news created by the signing of 15-year old midfielder George Green by Everton for an overall estimated £2 million from League Two club Bradford City has hardly sunk in; however, the news of another record-breaking teenage signing materializes. This time around, Chelsea happen to be in the spotlight; the Blues are all set to smash another transfer record by dishing out the biggest fee for a 14-year old in the history of club transfers.
The hot property in question is an England Under-16 international, and he goes by the name of Oluwaseyi Ojo who plays for the MK Dons youth team. Chelsea have reportedly agreed to pay £2 million for the starlet. As the story goes; Ojo’s impressive recent cameo for the national side against Northern Ireland had much to do with Chelsea making a move for the youngster.
The teenaged midfielder had come on at the end of the first half in that game and then turned up trumps within two minutes by way of an assist for Mason Bennett to help his country win 3-1. As well, scouts from many other top clubs were also watching him; to eventually compel Chelsea to make an immediate offer. The representatives from Stamford Bridge were reported to have made three bids before the end of the match. As it emerged, the last offer from Chelsea worth an initial £1.5 million, in addition to add-ons to the tune of £500,000 forced MK Dons to relent.
Although the Blues spending a few more million pounds for a talented player is a routine affair, securing the barely-teenaged Ojo sounds like one with a different twist. Swooping on youngsters by bigger clubs is nothing new while same goes for nurturing home-grown talents; however, the age of players when they are spotted as precocious talents housed outside appears to be going lower all the time. At the same time, bigger clubs making moves with such urgency do sound desperate as well.
Apparently, the soaring ambitions of top sides backed by financial muscle mean that no stones will be left unturned in their pursuit of glory. It could only be a manifestation of the increasing competition on all fronts.
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