Transfer News: Chelsea starlet Dynel Simeu joins Southampton
According to news from the Daily Mail, Chelsea youngster Dynel Simeu has completed a permanent transfer to fellow Premier League club Southampton.
The Cameroon-born defender was with the Blues youth setup since a very young age and represented the club’s Under-18 setup 36 times in total and also won the English Youth League. Simeu also turned out 29 times for Chelsea’s Under-23 outfit, scoring one goal and setting up two more. (h/t Transfermarkt)
Simeu’s contract with Chelsea had run out this summer. And, while the club were keen on handing him a new deal to tie him down on a long-term basis, the lure of a direct first-team pathway meant that the young defender ended snubbing the contract in favour of a move to Southampton. Simeu has signed a three-year deal with the club.
As per the agreement with the Saints, Chelsea will receive a compensation that could rise to £1.5m including performance-related add-ons.
In addition, the Blues are said to have inserted a big sell-on clause in the deal, meaning they will be guaranteed some percentage of the transfer proceeds if the South Coast club offload him in the future.
Simeu’s exit is the latest in a string of young players leaving Chelsea. The Blues’ recently saw Marc Guehi leave for Crystal Palace while fellow academy ace Lewis Bate departed for Leeds United. Myles Peart-Harris also left the Blues to sign for newly-promoted Premier League club, Brentford.
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It is not always for a youngster to break into the first-team at a club like Chelsea, where the squad is full of world-class stars. So one can understand the motivations behind Simeu’s decision to leave in search of a quicker pathway into senior football.
