Chelsea beat West Ham to signing Woking striker Jayden Wareham
Chelsea are set to beat West Ham in the race to sign young Woking attacking Jayden Wareham, according to Telegraph journalist Mike McGrath.
Writing on The Telegraph website, McGrath reports West Ham, Leicester and Southampton had all been scouting the 17-year-old striker, who’s been playing senior football for National League side Woking this season.
However, it is understood Chelsea “are closing in a deal” for the former QPR academy player as clubs “are looking lower down the football pyramid to fill their Under-23s squad” due to new Brexit rules.
Blow? We’ll have to wait
It remains to be seen whether or not missing out on Wareham will be a blow because we’ll have to see how the youngster develops at Chelsea.
He’s spent the last few weeks on trial at the West London club, scoring one goal and supplying two assists for their Under-18s in the Under-18 Premier League.
At Woking, Wareham made 14 National League appearances this season and scored two goals, both of which came in a 2-2 draw against Bromley in January.
While that was in the fifth tier of English football, it’s still impressive that a 17-year-old has been able to make his mark in first-team football, score a couple of goals and win a trial at Chelsea.
We may well be missing out here but let’s not get too carried away about the teenager’s potential because we’ll just have to wait and see.
It would have been nice to get him, though.
In other West Ham news, this Irons ace is now a major doubt to play against Burnley.
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