At one stage of the season, Chelsea looked like they could challenge for the Premier League title.
Enzo Maresca managed to get his side playing well, with Cole Palmer contributing 12 goals and six assists up until the start of 2025.
Since then, however, their form has dropped off a cliff. Indeed, Maresca’s side have won just four Premier League matches in the calendar year thus far.
It appears as though the manager is already planning for next season and beyond, as Chelsea have completed the signings of Geovany Quenda and Dario Essugo, spending £62.4m in the process.
Once the transfer window opens on June 1, Maresca will be keen on adding to his squad ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
The centre-forward department is one that will be bolstered during the transfer window, as doubts remain over Nicolas Jackson, while Christopher Nkunku has attracted interest from elsewhere.
Reports claim that Chelsea are a club who are leading the chase for RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko, with Arsenal also showing some interest.
The 21-year-old is one of the most coveted young talents on the continent, and it is looking increasingly likely that he will depart the German side this summer.
Maresca isn’t just showing admiration for the Slovenian forward, however, as another youngster has caught his attention in recent times…
Chelsea's search for a striker
According to a one recent report, Chelsea are stepping up their interest in Colombian forward Neyser Villarreal.
The club sent a chief scout to monitor his performance for Millonarios during their clash against Santa Fe earlier this week, a game in which the player was shown a yellow card for standing on the ball.
Inter Miami, Porto and Watford are the other interested parties, according to the report, although the Blues must be seen as the frontrunners, especially as they could be playing Champions League football next season.
The 19-year-old is out of contract at the end of 2025, which could encourage the Blues to make an offer sooner rather than later in order to lure him to the Premier League.
The Stamford Bridge side have a plethora of South American stars already at the club, including Oscar Perea and Kendry Paez, with Estevao recently linking up with the squad.
Why Chelsea are interested in signing Neyser Villarreal
The teenager is capable of playing anywhere across the front three, showing impressive positional flexibility, despite playing only 13 games for his club side during his embryonic career.
In just two league games this season, Villarreal has already notched up a single assist, while averaging 3.5 shots per game in the Colombian Apertura. The youngster has also averaged 0.5 key passes per game and succeeded with 0.5 dribbles each game for his club side.
Amid that fine form, he has been likened to England star, Marcus Rashford, by talent scout Jacek Kulig, due to his ability to operate on either flank or in a central role.
Rashford – who has scored six career goals against the Blues to date – also burst onto the scene at Manchester United as a teenage striker, with Villarreal seemingly looking to follow in his footsteps.
Respected analyst Ben Mattinson praised the Colombian teen in February following an impressive showing in the South American U20 Championship, where he scored a hat trick against Paraguay.
“I love how quickly he gets off shots in the box, proper poacher. So clinical. Get it to him on either side and he’ll unleash a powerful strike towards goal,” said Mattinson.
His displays in the competition have arguably been the reason why the Blues sent a scout to monitor his performance during midweek.
How Neyser Villarreal performed at the South American U20 Championship
Colombia played nine games during the competition, which was held between January and February this year, losing only twice, to Brazil and Argentina.
Across those games, Villarreal scored an impressive tally of eight goals, while recording four assists in what was a stunning display of consistency for his country.
He scored once every 95 minutes while averaging 1.4 shots on target per game, and the 19-year-old could have scored even more, having missed four big chances during the tournament.
Goals
8
Assists
4
Big chances created
4
Key passes per game
2.1
Scoring frequency (minutes)
95
Shots per game
2.8
Via Sofascore
Elsewhere, Villarreal also created four big chances, averaged 2.1 key passes per game and succeeded with one dribble each match, showcasing a multitude of skills throughout the competition.
These displays have clearly attracted plenty of interest from afar, but is he ready for a move to Europe right now? Perhaps spending another season in South America would allow him to continue his development.
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With the Blues eyeing up other strikers ahead of the summer transfer window, Sesko included, could Villarreal turn out to be a better long-term signing?
How Villarreal compares to Sesko
Sesko has shone since making the move from RB Salzburg to Leipzig in the summer of 2023. The 21-year-old has scored 35 goals across 78 games, which is a better record than the one he achieved in Austria.
The young centre-forward is certainly making waves in the Bundesliga, scoring a goal once every 189 minutes, although he has missed big chances to add to his tally of ten league goals so far this season.
Sesko isn’t shy about creating chances for others either, creating five big chances in the Bundesliga this term, proving that he isn’t strictly all for scoring goals.
It appears as though he is ready to make the move to a bigger club, with his signature being highly contested during the summer transfer window.
Villarreal might just have a bigger ceiling, however. While Chelsea are doing their best to harvest every promising South American talent that is going, the Millonarios youngster could turn out to be the best of the lot.
The best thing is, that he would cost significantly less than Sesko, especially with his contract expiring at the end of 2025.
Leipzig will be keen to get as much as they can for the Slovenian international, no doubt about that.
Turning to the next Rashford in Villarreal could well be the better long-term strategy for the Blues.
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