Chelsea have confirmed the acquisition of 19-year-old left-back Caleb Wiley from Atlanta United.
The club made the announcement in a statement shared on its X platform on Monday, stating, “Chelsea is pleased to announce the signing of United States international Caleb Wiley.”
Chelsea’s interest in the American international arose earlier this summer, prompting the club to swiftly finalize an £8.5m deal to bring Wiley to Europe.
Wiley was initially anticipated to join Chelsea’s sister club, the French team Strasbourg, but has now been officially registered as a player at Stamford Bridge instead.
Nevertheless, Wiley is expected to be loaned out to Strasbourg, and he is also part of the United States team competing in the Olympic Games in Paris this summer.
Strasbourg is also poised to secure the loan signing of another Chelsea player, with midfielder Andrey Santos set to return to the French side.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Santos will participate in pre-season with Chelsea before rejoining Strasbourg, where he spent the latter half of the previous season.
Strasbourg has experienced significant changes this summer, including the dismissal of manager Patrick Vieira after a 4-0 friendly loss to Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce.
Reports indicated that former Hull City manager Liam Rosenior is set to replace Vieira as the head coach next season.
Rosenior is said to have already communicated with Santos to persuade the Brazilian midfielder to return to Strasbourg.
Several clubs, including Borussia Dortmund, were interested in securing Santos on loan, but he will ultimately team up with Rosenior at Strasbourg next season.
