Report: Chelsea eye late January transfer of Man City young starlet

Nico O'Reilly of Manchester City could make the move to Chelsea

Chelsea are making a late push to sign Manchester City prospect Nico O’Reilly as they continue their search for a new central midfielder.

The 19-year-old has only featured six times for Pep Guardiola’s senior side, but his potential has caught the attention of the Blues, who are keen on adding another top young talent to their ranks.

With Carney Chukwuemeka likely to leave before the transfer window shuts and Romeo Lavia sidelined by injury, Chelsea are thought to be eager to reinforce their midfield. However, City are reluctant to part ways with O’Reilly without maintaining some form of future control over the player – something which is making negotiations difficult.

According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea have made an official enquiry for O’Reilly.

He wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Chelsea keep working on new midfielder with enquiry made to Man City for 2005-born midfielder Nico O’Reilly.

“City don’t want to lose future control on the player— not an easy deal. Follows enquiry made for Mathis Amougou reported last week, still on list.”

Saint-Etienne midfielder Mathis Amougou has been a key player for the club since their return to Ligue 1, making 16 appearances so far this season.

As CaughtOffside reported previously, Chelsea see the 18-year-old as a long-term prospect and  discussions are still ongoing with their ownership group, BlueCo. If a deal is struck, there’s a strong chance Amougou could initially join Strasbourg, Chelsea’s sister club, to continue his development.

Nico O’Reilly could be the new Cole Palmer

O’Reilly’s potential move to Chelsea follows the club’s successful capture of Cole Palmer in 2023. Despite being highly rated at City, Palmer struggled for regular minutes under Guardiola before Chelsea swooped in with a €47 million deal.

Since then, Palmer has become one of Europe’s top performers – naturally, Chelsea will be hoping that O’Reilly if signed, can follow a similar trajectory.

With the deadline fast approaching, Chelsea are working against the clock to finalise a deal, but with City hesitant to let go of the talented midfielder without conditions, securing his signature won’t be straightforward.