Reports: Chelsea to trigger £88 million release clause for 19-year-old wonderkid

What's the story?

Chelsea who are in no way short of ultra-talented youngsters themselves but technical director Michael Emenalo, the man responsible for transfers at Stamford Bridge, has his eyes set on Steaua Bucharest's teenage wunderkind 19-year-old Florinel Coman.

Emenalo reportedly flew down to Bucharest to watch Steaua's 1-0 derby win over Dinamo and was impressed by what he saw as per reports in the Daily Mail. To get his hands on Coman, though, the Londoners will have to shell out a whopping £88 million - that is the amount that Steaua's notoriously controversial owner Gigi Becali has injected into his contract stating that he is just about as good as Kylian Mbappe!

While that surely is a stretch of Becali's fine imagination, what can't be contested is the undoubted potential that young Florentin Coman holds in those magical boots of his.

In case you didn't know

The highly talented young winger likes to maraud down the left wing but has been given freedom by his current coach to roam across the frontline - where he is adept across different positions

Coman was given his first chance when he was promoted from Vitorul Constanta's academy by Romanian footballing demi-god Gheorghe Hagi and he made his league debut for Constanta in 2015, aged just 17. In fact, Coman was the Liga I Player of the Month for February 2017 after scoring one each against Dinamo Bucure?ti, Pandurii Târgu Jiu and ACS Poli Timi?oara

Steaua beat out competition from Portugal's great talent-unearthers Benfica to snap up the youngster for little over £2 million - and this where Becali inserted that mammoth release clause

The heart of the matter

Chelsea previously spent large money on a Romanian when they got in the ever-mercurial Adrian Mutu but that was a different era, and a completely different kind of player so to make any sweeping assessments keeping just that in mind would be foolhardy.

Coman would add a dash of unpredictable talent to a senior Chelsea squad that often lacks that element when Eden Hazard is either unavailable or not in the mood.

Video

Here's Coman in action:

The lad can play, eh?

Author's Take

Chelsea have had quite an iffy youth-development policy even if it with young talents they've bought from overseas (Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku say hello) and as talented as Coman is, it might be unwise to spend quite so much on a greenhorn while there so many talented youngsters of their own waiting in the wings.