Chelsea and Aston Villa agree £19m move for teenager Omari Kellyman

Chelsea's quest to continue fielding the youngest Premier League teams of all time continues in full swing, with multiple reports today claiming we have agreed a £19m deal with Aston Villa to sign another of their teenage hopes.

The two teams were in talks about several potential deals (Ian Maatsen, Jhon Durán, maybe Conor Gallagher?), but none of the previous rumors had mentioned anything about Omari Kellyman, so that's a bit of a surprise. Apparently we first inquired in January.

The 18-year-old attacking midfielder, who joined Villa two years ago from Derby County's academy, played eight times last season, making his debut in last summer's Europa League qualifiers even if this remains his only senior professional departure to date. He was briefly sidelined with a hamstring injury over the winter, but was part of Villa's squad in eight of the final nine Premier League matches of the season, including two. The Telegraph adds that he's “considered a similar player profile to Kai Havertz”, which doesn't seem as reassuring as it should since we've never really figured out what to do with King Kai.

It's unclear what Kellyman's plan or path might be, but it's hard to see him getting too many minutes right away given the glut of young offensive talent already on the team – including another former prospect Villa, Carney Chukwuemeka. Then maybe a loan is waiting for you.

Reportedly, the Kellyman deal is not directly linked to the £37.5 million Ian Maatsen deal, although it obviously reduces the net amounts involved.