Chelsea close on Romanian wonderkid

Daily Mail has suggested that Chelsea are on the verge of signing Romanian defender Cristian Manea from Viitorul Constanta.

The Blues have been monitoring the youngster’s performances for quite a while now, and they have reportedly agreed a £2.3 million deal for his services.

Arsenal, Ajax and Udinese were also believed to be keen, but it was Chelsea who ultimately won the chase.

Manea will, therefore, join the Blues in the summer transfer window, although he will be immediately loaned out to Vitesse or Mallorca.

The 17-year-old already has some first team experience, having made 22 league appearances for Viitorul, while he was surprisingly handed his Romania debut back in May 2014.

After starting the friendly win over Albania, Manea was also in the starting line-up as Romania defeated Moldova and shared spoils with Bulgaria last month, and he is widely expected to make his first competitive appearance for the national team in the Euro 2016 qualifier against Faroe Islands later this month.