Chelsea have confirmed talented youngster Ola Aina has signed a new four-year deal with the club.
Aina has been with Chelsea since he was in the Under-11 age group and is a regular England U20 international, who has also been called into the U21 squad as well.
He has won two FA Youth Cups with the team and was part of the squads that won the first two UEFA Youth League tournaments, as well as representing the Blues in the 2013-14 U21 Premier League season.
Last season he regularly trained with the Chelsea first team but he didn’t play as interim manager Guus Hiddink looked to youngsters Jake Clarke-Salter and Tammy Abraham during his time in charge.
There was concern amongst fans that Aina hadn’t been offered a new deal and he was linked to clubs like Arsenal and Celtic, that concern rose when another player out of contract, Alex Kiwomya, signed a new deal.
However, Aina has signed a new four-year deal and speaking to the club’s official website he made it clear how delighted he was to sign the contract.
“Signing a new deal is always a blessing, especially at a big club like this,” he said. “I am happy and I need to hit the ground running again.
“As a player I think I have got better and better because of the level of coaching in the Academy and with the first team and as a person, the whole environment has helped me mature well.
“The club is close to my heart, they have helped me a lot and I am really thankful for that. It is a good moment for me.
“I like the feeling of getting properly fit and ready for the season, I like working hard and pushing myself and getting new kit, and seeing the boys again after holidays is a good feeling.
“Over the next four years I want to become a much better and established player. I want to be able to play men’s football at a high level and hopefully break into Chelsea’s first team because that is the ultimate goal.”
The club also confirmed that Colombian forward Jhoao Rodriguez has joined Santa Fe on loan for the coming season.
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