Chelsea confirm first Deadline Day deal to kickstart busy end to window | OneFootball

Blues agree loan for young striker as David Datro Fofana nears Strasbourg switch

Chelsea have agreed a deal to send Frankie Runham on loan to Ipswich for the rest of the season.

The 19-year-old forward is an Ipswich academy signing and will be a part of their Under-21s team for the remainder of their Premier League 2 campaign.

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Runham joined Chelsea’s academy at the age of eight and has represented England from U15s to U18s level.

Aged 15 during the 2022-23 season, he became Chelsea’s then-youngest-ever UEFA Youth League goalscorer with a strike against Dinamo Zagreb.

“I’m delighted to be at this massive club,” Runham said upon completion of his loan move to the Tractor Boys.

Frankie Runham in action for Chelsea Under-21s

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“I’ve had a good youth career so far and I'm now looking forward to continuing my progress at Ipswich Town.

“It’s a huge club that are doing well at the minute in Premier League 2 and in the Championship, so I see the club’s going in the right direction and I feel it’s the right place to give me the right pathway in my career.”

The move to send Runham on loan to Ipswich’s academy is Chelsea’s first completed deal of Deadline Day.

There is more business still to be done at Stamford Bridge, with David Datro Fofana expected to be loaned to Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg, while Mamadou Sarr is in line to be recalled from his loan there.