20-year-old star explains how close he came to joining Chelsea before Arsenal move

Bukayo Saka reveals Chelsea were interested in him before he joined Arsenal

According to Football.London, Arsenal star Bukayo Saka has revealed that he was as close to joining Chelsea before moving to Arsenal. 

After giving an impressive performance in the 2018/19 season, Bukayo Saka got the call up from Arsenal’s senior team. Looking at his highly productive performances in recent seasons, it’s evident that the Gunners management has found one of the most promising youngsters in Europe,

The English starlet has already bagged seven goals and four assists in 24 appearances across all competitions – breathtaking numbers for any 20-year-old winger playing in England.

Bukayo Saka joined Arsenal as a very young kid from local youth side Greenford Celtic. However, it seems Chelsea were also in the race to capture the signature of the highly-talented youngster who just attained eligibility to sign a professional contract that year. 

How would have Saka fared at Chelsea?

In a recent interview, Bukayo Saka revealed that along with the Blues, all the big clubs in London and Watford were all interested in getting his signature. 

“There was Arsenal, Chelsea I was at for a bit, there was Watford, there was Tottenham. I think there was maybe two more, but those are the ones that I can remember from the top of my head.”

The English starlet also suggested that he was always sure about choosing Arsenal considering the work Gunners have done in their youth ranks, and his family also trusted Arsene Wenger’s project. 

“Arsenal was the one I always wanted to go to. It seemed like they had a lot of faith in their youth, and there was a clear pathway.”

Under the guidance of Frank Lampard, many Chelsea academy graduates got the chance to feature for the senior team. That particular phrase proved the quality of our academy set-up and the effect of top-level grooming. Players like Mason Mount have gone on to become very important members of Thomas Tuchel’s starting XI.

However, Saka’s commitment and passion for Arsenal show that any move to Chelsea was always difficult. For the same reason, any possibility of moving to Stamford Bridge in the future does not look very bright either, given we are direct rivals with the Gunners.

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But one can only wonder what would have been if Saka chose us over the North Londoners. For one thing, our current injury crisis that sees Ben Chilwell and Reece James out with injury would have been a lot easier to deal with. A full international for England already, Saka can only get better.

He was a big presence for England last summer at the UEFA Euros 2020 despite missing a crucial penalty in the final. Even though he plays for our bitter rivals, it is hard to wish anything but good luck to the youngster for his career ahead, given how well he has done for himself at such a young age.