Chelsea have agreed a new contract with highly-rated youngster and defender Xavier Simons, according to reports.
The 19-year-old was set to leave the club this summer when his current contract expires, however Chelsea have been handed a huge boost after managing to strike an agreement to extend his stay in west London,
Simons was handed his first-team debut last season by Thomas Tuchel during the 2-0 win over Brentford in December 2021 in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.
The academy graduate has been the subject of interest from several clubs, according to Adam Newson, who reports now that Chelsea have managed to keep hold of the talented defender.
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It remains unclear over how long his new deal will be, yet to be confirmed by the club, but for Chelsea it's only good news following several exits over the last year or so concerning academy stars - Tino Livramento, Marc Guehi, Lewis Bate, Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori all opting to leave the club in search of more game time.
His position at the club looked to be clear up on Friday after Chelsea confirmed their released list which didn't include the teenager. Only Andreas Christensen, Danny Drinkwater, Jake Clarke-Salter and Charly Musonda were announced to be moving on at the end of their contracts.
Chelsea had been unable to enter any contract negotiations with players from March to May following the sanctioning of former owner Roman Abramovich. Now that the club has been taken over by the consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, work can be done on securing players' futures.
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Another duo who will need their contracts sorting are Mason Mount and Reece James. Both are likely to be rewarded with bumper pay rises for their important roles in Tuchel's squad.
Jorginho and N'Golo Kante will see their contracts expire next summer and Tuchel is hoping to have their futures decided one way or the other this summer to avoid a repeat of Christensen and Antonio Rudiger's contract sagas which has seen them both leave the west London outfit.
"It's a wish as a coach that we solve this in the summer in any way, that we solve it and it's clear where the journey is and what the decision is," said Tuchel back in April on the midfield duo.
Chelsea will also see academy stars Thierno Ballo, George McEachran and Karlo Žiger all leave this summer, as per reports.
Topics: Chelsea, Xavier Simons
Matthew Debono