Chelsea has officially announced the signing of 19-year-old centre-back Aaron Anselmino from Boca Juniors. Very much touted to be one of the stars of the future in South American football, Anselmino was marked earlier this summer by Chelsea as one of their prime targets to achieve their strategy of securing top young talents from the continent.
The Blues finally agreed a £17 million deal a number of weeks ago, with Anselmino signing a seven-year contract at Stamford Bridge. Part of the agreement sees the versatile defender—who can also feature in midfield—stay on loan at Boca for the 2024/25 campaign. Anselmino has already made ten senior appearances for the Argentine giants.
Anselmino is Chelsea’s eighth signing of the summer. The club has also secured Palmeiras winger Estevao Willian, who will join Chelsea in 2025 upon turning 18, and Kendry Paez from Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle, who is set to arrive next summer.
Anselmino made his debut in June 2023 and local media have described him as Boca’s best young player. To this point, though, he’s been restricted due to a thigh problem that has limited the number of times he’s been able to take the field.
There is no word on what Anselmino’s involvement with Boca will be like in the upcoming year; in fact, Chelsea have made a similar arrangement regarding Estevao with Palmeiras.