Chelsea are set to continue their raid on La Masia in search for some more talented Spanish youngsters. Andre Villas Boas recruited Spanish midfielder Oriol Romeu, 20, in the summer and is looking to repeat the same trick. His name is Sergi Roberto.
The Portuguese manager has been so impressed by the talent and progress made by Oriol when called upon, that he is looking to bring in a few more from La Masia. Sergi Roberto is only 19 years of age has great potential and is highly regarded as another exciting prospect.
According to AS, they say Chelsea are close to landing Roberto after their football chief Michael Emenalo visited the La Masia training base last week. Villas Boas is thought to have received nothing but positive feedback for the 19-year-old.
As you know, Barcelona are blessed with midfield maestro’s and it is very hard to break in. Chances for progression appear to be remote for a youngster, and Sergi Roberto could follow his former teammate out the door to gain more experience. He would have witnessed the success Romeu has had so far with Chelsea, already notching up 6 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions more than he ever had in the first team for Barcelona.
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The only problem is that the bright promising youngster has penned a new deal this year, committing himself to the Catalan club until 2015. In saying that there is a loophole in his contract that includes a buy out clause of €12M. Despite him having so much promise, will Chelsea be willing to spend that much on a player that is inexperienced and hardly tested?
Then again, Villas Boas could come in with the same approach that proved successful when signing Romeu, where Barcelona would hold a buy-back clause of €10m after one year and €15m after two.
