Mason Burstow of Charlton Athletic shoots during the Emirates FA Cup Third Round match vs Norwich City. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
According to the Daily Mail, Chelsea have landed Charlton Athletic striker Mason Burstow on the final day of the winter transfer window. The teenager will spend the remainder of the campaign with Charlton, who play in the League One division.
Chelsea have had a quiet January, not seeing any significant new signings come through the doors at Stamford Bridge as we now enter February. However, it now looks like they have finally dipped into the transfer market to snap up a talented young player.
The 18-year-old forward has caught the attention of the footballing world with his performances this season. Speaking to the South London Press (h/t Daily Mail), Charlton owner Thomas Sandgaard confirmed that a number of top-flight sides were interested in signing Burstow.
“We have got multiple Premier League teams who are fishing to see if they can do a quick deal when it comes to Burstow. There is a right value for a very talented player like Mason Burstow.”
Burstow did not make Charlton’s squad for their game against Portsmouth on transfer deadline day, after the club allowed the striker to speak to Chelsea ahead of a potential move to Stamford Bridge before the end of the month. The Blues are yet to see the best of Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner this season and it seems like Tuchel and co have started future-proofing our frontline.
The Stamford Bridge outfit has made an exciting signing in Burstow, who made a great start to life in the senior squad at Charlton this season, scoring with his first touch in professional football. So far, the 1.87m tall teenager has scored six times in 14 appearances in all competitions for the Addicks.
Charlton head coach Johnnie Jackson confirmed the news about Chelsea’s approach for Burstow on LondonNewsOnline (h/t Daily Mail), saying that the player would be spending the rest of the season on loan at The Valley despite a move to the Blues.
“I believe that a deal is very close and that he will be coming back on loan to us. Great that the club and the chairman has got a deal he is happy with. But also we get the player back as well. Pleasing, if we do manage to get him back on loan, that I can continue to help that development. Hopefully send him to Chelsea an even better player than he is now.”
Although it is not expected that Burstow will be inducted straight into the first team at Chelsea, the club can still be happy about signing a rising talent in English football in a transfer window where we had not seen any incoming activity. The Englishman will, in all likelihood, be sent to Cobham in the summer to continue his development.
It is curious to see us move for a striker this month despite being well aware of our injuries in defence, leaving us light at the back as we move into the second half of the season. With Chelsea running deep in cup competitions and eyeing silverware, we will all need all the players we have fit and raring to go.
Although our immediate concern should have been finding cover at left-back with Ben Chilwell ruled out for the season due to injury, we seem to have focussed on signing Burstow- which looks like an investment for the future. The 18-year-old could well be a useful asset for us in the coming years.
How a lack of a left-back cover impacts us during the rest of the season will be seen in the coming weeks, with a Carabao Cup final and the FIFA Club World Cup looming over us in February. As for Burstow, it seems like our fans now have a reason to follow Charlton’s games until the summer. Hopefully, he turns out to fill any void that Tammy Abraham may have left in the squad when he left for AS Roma last year.
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