The official signing of teenage striker Dujuan Richards by Chelsea has now taken place.
The Jamaican international has moved to Stamford Bridge from the Phoenix Allstars Football Academy in Kingston.
Richards and Chelsea reached a pre-contract agreement in March of last year, and the move was subsequently finalized during the summer. The player is anticipated to sign with the Blues upon reaching the age of 18.
Richards, who trained with Mauricio Pochettino’s first team during last year’s preseason tour of the USA, turned 18 in November and has since officially joined Chelsea.
Richards expressed his happiness at being here to Chelsea’s official website. It’s hard to express the feelings, but signing a professional contract has always been my dream. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to do so at Chelsea. I am so eager to get going.”
Richards, who has been a member of the Phoenix Academy since he was eleven years old, attracted the attention of Newcastle after he went on trial and watched a match at St. James’ Park. However, Chelsea moved quickly to sign him, beating their Premier League rivals.
Joe Shields, director of talent acquisition for Chelsea, closed the deal. Richards was previously known to the academies of Sheffield United, Manchester City, Aston Villa, and Crystal Palace from his time playing against those teams during a 2021 tour of England.
Richards, who also attended Brooke House College in Leicestershire, had a trial with Real Sociedad in Spain in 2022. Ajax and Genk, a Belgian team, were among the teams that followed Richards.
Shortly after signing with Chelsea in March of last year, he made his senior international debut for Jamaica against Trinidad and Tobago. Since then, he has earned 10 caps and scored one goal against the same team in June of their 2023 Gold Cup campaign.
Richards will now join the Chelsea academy in an attempt to rapidly demonstrate to Pochettino that he is deserving of first-team opportunities in a difficult position.
