Chelsea have completed their fourth signing of the summer for Thomas Tuchel as 18-year-old goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina joins the club.
He joins the club for around £12million from Chicago Fire in the MLS, where he will be on loan until January after completing a move back to his boyhood club.
The American becomes Todd Boehly's third confirmed signing of the summer after deals for Kalidou Koulibaly and Raheem Sterling were completed last month. However, Chelsea and Aston Villa confirmed an agreement has been reached for the signing of Carney Chukwuemeka on Tuesday.
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Slonina has signed a mammoth six-year deal to keep him at the club until 2028 and will leave behind an impressive list of records in America having signed a professional deal at just 14 and became the MLS's youngest ever goalkeeper, making his debut at 17.
Alongside Slonina is an influx of young players being snapped up by Chelsea. Omari Hutchinson left Arsenal for Cobham last month and Aston Villa starlet Chukwuemeka agreed a deal worth £20m to join Chelsea. The Blues had to fight off Real Madrid to secure their new keeper and the deal has already drawn comparisons with the one that saw them bring in Thibaut Courtois to the club as an 18-year-old himself.
Boehly's signing of Slonina also opens up the likelihood that Chelsea continue to shop in America as new marketing strategies are considered. The Blues already have Christian Pulisic on their books and had a timely trip to USA this summer, something that Boehly will be keen to expand on as he looks to restructure the club.
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