Boca Juniors defender Aaron Anselmino has confirmed that he is on the brink of signing a contract with Chelsea.
The Premier League outfit have been no strangers to acquiring young talent from South America since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital purchased the club in May 2022.
Chelsea face the real prospect of having more than half-a-dozen starlets from that part of the world in their senior ranks for the start of 2025-26.
Estevao Willian and Kendry Paez may join the likes of Andrey Santos and Angelo Gabriel, who could be loaned out before the end of the summer transfer window.
Reports over the weekend indicated that Anselmino could become the next such player to be penning terms with the West Londoners.
Boehly and Clearlake have allegedly committed to finalising a proposal worth $20m (£15.7m) for the centre-back, who will return to his current club on loan.
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Anselmino gives positive Chelsea update
Anselmino has made the trip to London to conclude the process of becoming a Chelsea player with an official announcement expected in due course.
Before that journey, Anselmino spoke to ESPN to give his thoughts on his pending transfer to the West Londoners.
He said: "I'm very happy, everything happened very quickly.
"Since I was a little boy, I dreamed of this, things are going well and I hope they continue like this. Every footballer dreams of this opportunity, I'm very happy."
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When could he be integrated into Chelsea squad?
That remains to be seen. As it stands, Anselmino has featured for the Boca Juniors first team on just 10 occasions.
Furthermore, only 299 minutes have been accumulated during 2024, with injury and dropping down the pecking order each playing their part.
Even when Anselmino links up with Chelsea in January 2025, it appears more likely that he will represent the Under-21s or go out on loan to a European-based club for the second half of the campaign.
He would need to suitably impress Enzo Maresca or the club's recruitment team during that aforementioned period in order to break into the senior ranks.
Darren Plant
