Omari Kellyman’s move to Chelsea proves Nassef Sawiris’ complaint at Aston Villa correct

Omari Kellyman’s proposed move to Chelsea is further evidence of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability (PSR) rules.

He will become the latest Aston Villa youngster to leave the club only for his sale to be reflected as a pure profit. Cameron Archer – who is set to return this summer after Sheffield United’s relegation – Aaron Ramsey and Jaden Philogene were sold last summer so Villa could spend on Pau Torres and Moussa Diaby.

Meanwhile, Carney Chukwuemeka left Villa for Chelsea in the summer of 2020, but his case is different as he pushed for a move and did not want to extend his contract at Villa Park. Tim Iroegbunam, who won the FA Youth Cup alongside Chukwuemeka in 2021, is also heading for the exit door as he has agreed a move to Everton.

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Villa will receive £9m for Iroegbunam, while 21-year-old Lewis Dobbin is expected to head to Villa in a separate deal. Villa are selling Kellyman to Chelsea after the Blues agreed to sell 22-year-old left-back Ian Maatsen earlier this week. The Netherlands international will also reflect as pure profit on Chelsea’s books once he joins Villa.

Kellyman impressed during pre-season last summer and would have given him another opportunity to attract Unai Emery’s attention in the next two months before the start of the new Premier League season. The 18-year-old signed a contract extension in November 2023 after making his senior debut in the Europa Conference League against Hibernian.

The attacking midfielder, who joined the club from Derby County last year, also won international recognition with England Under-19s at the start of the last campaign. He was sidelined for several months with a thigh injury before the New Year but still managed to score seven goals in his 11 Premier League 2 appearances over the past year.

Kellyman made his Premier League debut in April in the defeat against Manchester City before coming off the bench again in the final day defeat to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

After penning an almost eight-month extension, the club’s academy manager Mark Harrison said: “The first-team squad have been very positive about his (Kellyman’s) development so far and we look forward to that continuing . This is also a great example of the continued integration between the academy and the first team.”

Emery is calling up a number of academy players to train with the first team and has given a number of debuts to academy stars in the last term. However, PSRs mean that Villa and many other top clubs are more inclined to flog their promising youngsters who are no match for anyone.

Villa co-owner Nassef Sawiris recently highlighted this flaw to the Financial Times, as he believes sales boosted by local talent penalize a club’s loyalty and commitment to its own young players.

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