CHELSEA’S owners have reached an agreement with Sporting Cascade FC to sign 16-year-old midfielder Muhammad Zongo.
Zongo is one of the most highly regarded talents in youth football, can play a variety of positions, and is joining Strasbourg, with his long-term future likely to lie at Stamford Bridge if he fulfils his potential.
If you watched any of Burkina Faso at the under-17 World Cup as the Chelsea ownership did, you’ll know who he is – but if you haven’t – here goes…
When he turns 18, Strasbourg will have a hell of a midfield talent on their hands, as they once did with Andrey Santos and now Kendry Paez.
And similarly to those two players, they had to fight off competition to get his signature, namely this time from Man Utd and Man City.
The left-footed box-to-box midfielder can also operate as an attacking midfielder or a winger, stylistically somewhat similar to the likes of Carney Chukwuemeka and Mohammed Kudus, with a hint of Moises Caicedo about him too.
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He is dangerous from range in terms of shooting, as showcased in the Under-17 World Cup, and looked sharp on the ball, especially in transition.
Zongo’s Burkina Faso side did Africa proud at the tournament, making it to the quarter-finals before being knocked out by Italy, impressively beating Germany along the way.
It was Zongo’s goal that made the difference when they played the Germans, scoring in the 5th minute of the round of 32 against the defending champions.
He cut in on his left foot and bent an effort into the top left corner, reminiscent of watching Estevao in his Palmeiras days.
Zongo was one of the biggest sensations of the last World Cup, scoring two goals and assisting three more.
He is the latest youngster to have secured a future move to Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea having lined up the signings of 18-year-old winger Geovany Quenda from Sporting CP and 22-year-old striker Emanuel Emegha from sister club Strasbourg already.
‘Baby Aguero’ Dastan Satpayev will complete his move in the summer after he has turned 18, and is currently shining for Kairat Almaty in the Champions League – soon to visit the Emirates to play against Arsenal.
Brazilian left back Denner Evangelista from Corinthians will do the same, with Ecuadorian defender Deinner Ordonez to follow from Independiente del Valle in January 2028, the same team that Moises Caicedo and Paez once played for.
And while this is all great news for Chelsea, who have reaped the rewards already of owning some of the best young talents in the world, like Estevao and Cole Palmer, it will raise yet more eyebrows in Strasbourg.
The Blues’ ‘sister club’ very much have something of a sibling rivalry in France with Chelsea, as explored by SunSport this year.
Knowing that these electric talents will play for their club is exciting for fans, but knowing they will never stay if they’re good enough for Chelsea is heartbreaking.
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