Transfer News: PL rivals pip Chelsea to strike a deal for 17-year-old defender

Transfer News: Aston Villa strike a deal with Dundee United for signing Chelsea target Kerr Smith

According to the Daily Record, Aston Villa are eyeing to snatch highly-talented Dundee United youngster Kerr Smith under the noses of Chelsea.

After signing a professional contract with Dundee United last December, 17-year-old Kerr Smith has been touted as one of the best young talents in the country. The Scottish star only made five appearances in the Premiership this season, which was seemingly enough to catch the eyes of top Premier League clubs. 

Crystal Palace, Southampton, Everton and Chelsea have all been keeping tabs on Smith since he turned professional and were waiting for the right moment to make an offer. But it seems Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa have beaten all the other teams in the transfer race. 

It is believed that the Lions have struck a deal in the region of £2million to secure a move for the 17-year-old wonderkid. With some further add-ons, United would get reasonable compensation for nurturing the talented defender. The Villans have been emphatic this transfer window as they look to strengthen their core after the arrival of Steven Gerrard. 

Smith to Chelsea or Villa?

However, it is not good news for Chelsea, who are currently in a contract standoff with several central defenders. If any one of Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and César Azpilicueta decides to call curtains on their Chelsea career in the coming summer, Thomas Tuchel would find himself in hot waters.

Having lost Fikayo Tomori to AC Milan and Marc Guehi to Crystal Palace last summer, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that the Blues board may have started to regret those decisions. But the thing about football is that it always keeps changing and moving forward.

The apparent £2million move seems like a reasonable deal that we would have been smart to be all over. Even though the youngster has not played much top-flight football, he has shown that he can reach great heights with proper grooming.

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Chelsea’s work with academy graduates has been top-notch over the years and we have successfully produced top performers for the first team, with Mason Mount and Trevoh Chalobah two shining examples. But Chelsea couldn’t close the deal in time, and only the future can tell what the cost would be of missing out on this deal.

It’s no use crying over spilt beans, though, and it is best if we focus our attention elsewhere. Azpilicueta, Rudiger, and Christensen are without a contract this summer and it is of utmost importance that we tie at least two of them down to new deals before the end of the season.

If not, then there is no doubt that we would have to look for replacements considering Tuchel’s success at Chelsea has been built on the back of players like Rudiger and Azpi.