Chelsea ready to pip Man City to Blackburn Rovers transfer agreement | OneFootball

Chelsea and Man City are both eyeing a move for a Blackburn Rovers teenager

Chelsea are close to winning the race to the signature of Blackburn Rovers youngster Camden Schaper.

According to Alan Nixon, the 13-year-old attacking midfielder is close to making the switch to Stamford Bridge from Ewood Park, despite only being at the club for just over a year.

The teenager is currently part of the Lancashire outfit’s category one academy system, moving to English football last year from South Africa.

But it is now apparent that he will leave the Championship side in order to continue his development with a Premier League giant in the form of the Blues.

Chelsea closing in on Blackburn Rovers starlet Camden Schaper

Chelsea are reportedly preparing an offer in the region of £700,000 to sign Schaper from Blackburn.

The 13-year-old also has interest from Manchester City, with his younger brother Astin - a goalkeeper - already at the club.

However, it’s believed that the London outfit are leading the race to his signature at this time, as they ready a sensational offer for someone of his age.

No agreements have yet been reached, but it’s expected that the teenager will leave Blackburn for the Premier League side this summer.

At the age of just 13, Schaper is still a number of years away from potentially breaking into senior football, particularly if he joins the Blues, although as Leicester City wonderkid Jeremy Monga showed recently, it is possible for players as young as 15 to star in the top flight of English football.

Chelsea have invested heavily in bringing in new players to their academy and first team squads in recent years, and this would just be the latest addition to their underage setup.

Blackburn have earned a reputation within the game for their development of young talent, with their academy system regularly producing first team talent.

Most notably, Adam Wharton has become an FA Cup winner and England international after coming through the Rovers academy setup, before moving to Crystal Palace.

The likes of Lewis Travis and Scott Wharton have also come through the ranks of the underage teams to make it at Ewood Park.

Schaper has evidently impressed since moving to Blackburn, and could now earn a big money switch to Chelsea as a result.

Camden Schaper leaving for Chelsea would sting for Blackburn Rovers, but it may be a good deal

At 13, there are no guarantees that Schaper will become a first team calibre player, so earning £700,000 for him now is good business.

They will also earn a small percentage of any future fees paid to sign him because they’ll have played a role in his development, which could yield some good money down the line.

While there’s the potential that he becomes a superstar and Rovers will wonder what could’ve been, he’s still just way too young to know for sure how his development could pan out if he stayed.