EXCLUSIVE: Chelsea set to sign £30m wonderkid
The Blues are set to pay up to £30million for 18-year-old French strike sensation Eli Junior Kroupi.
The teenager has hit nine goals in 18 appearances for second division leaders Lorient and is keen to come to the Premier League — if the move is right for him.
Blues have jumped ahead of Prem rivals West Ham and Bournemouth for Kroupi, who made his top-flight debut at 16 for the club where his dad, Eli, also played.
The French youth cap also picked the country of his birth over Ivory Coast, where his father was a full international.
Chelsea hope to win the auction but a major obstacle will be whether they plan to keep Kroupi at Stamford Bridge or send him out on loan.
Kroupi and his camp want to take on the Prem now rather than wait — and he is also eligible for Uefa’s Conference League.
Hammers prefer to do a deal based on a lower down-payment plus add-ons, while Bournemouth have also been in talks with Lorient over a move worth less cash but with a quicker route into the first team.
Blues are also ready to loan out teens Aaron Anselmino and Marc Guiu.
Anselmino, 19, is seen as a future star, but Chelsea think he needs half-a-season playing to toughen up.
Sheffield Wednesday want the Argentinian defender, while Scottish giants Rangers have also inquired.
Spanish striker Guiu, also 19, could be sent out to a Championship club to gain experience, with Leeds, West Brom and Middlesbrough keen on the former Barcelona starlet.
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