Chelsea are looking to poach Jann Fiete Arp from Hamburg in the next summer window despite being turned in the previous summer window. Tottenham Hotspur are heavy favourites to land the 18-year-old who had previously revealed that Harry Kane was his idol.
The Blues are prepared to take another run at him with their own attacking lineup struggling to score on a consistent basis. Alvaro Morata did find the back of the net in the 1-3 loss against Tottenham but has proved to be a flop all season long. Olivier Giroud is yet to score in the Premier League this season.
Just a year back, Arp was juggling school work with professional football. He had travelled to Spain for winter training camp with the Hamburg first team and at the same time was studying for his high school diploma.
He was already one of the star athletes of the Hamburg Academy and was lighting up the international stage with Germany in the UEFA European U17 Championship. He became the first player ever to score two hat-tricks in a single competition at such a high level.
Arp was introduced as an 89th-minute substitute against rivals, Werder Bremen on his debut and later scored his first Bundesliga goal on 28 October 2017 against Hertha BSC. The youngster has appeared in 19 games this season and has delivered with 9 goals. At times he has even been successful in keeping out established professionals like Bobby Wood and Andre Hahn out of the starting lineup.
When asked about his progress, Arp replied, “I think I’m still lacking a lot in order to play the way I’d like to.” The teenager even expressed his eagerness to improve upon all aspects of his game, especially his physical prowess. These are signs that ever scout and manager look for in a player.
However, how much of his game will we see in a Chelsea jersey? The West London side are currently in the 5th spot of the points table and things are less than comfortable between Antonio Conte and the Chelsea ownership.
Roman Abramovich has already lined up replacements for the Italian along with a shortlist of summer signings he would need for an improved 2018/19 campaign. But it would be foolish to think that Arp’s career has any chance of developing in the Stamford Bridge.
The club already had Michy Batshuayi in the side, who they kept on the benches for the past two seasons. The Belgian was forced to find an outlet in Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga along with the highly rated English youth international, Tammy Abraham.
Charly Musonda barely saw the pitch this season and he too had to be loaned out to Celtic for an 18-month period. Chelsea are known for purchasing proven talents and keeping their youngsters on a leash with the promise of a bright future. It would benefit to Arp to strongly consider this transfer move if Chelsea were to come in with a convincing offer.
