Latest: Two youth team sales today likely; £19m attacker going nowhere | OneFootball

All eyes are on the Chelsea first team today as we rattle towards the transfer deadline – but under the surface there’s a lot of activity in the Development Squad too.

January tends to be a busy time for a lot of these young players – their value is that much lower so teams can take a punt, and this is also the time when a lot of teams are shuffling their loan around, and when a lot of players are reaching a critical point 18 months from the end of their contracts when it makes sense to move them on.

All around the country, there are reports about what Chelsea are up to. Yesterday, Strasbourg signed young Southampton winger Samuel Amo-Ameyaw with some BlueCo money. But there are more going out than  coming in.

Firstly up is the sale of Somto Boniface, the young left sided speedster who is set to join Ipswich for around £2m. He will go into their youth team, but will be hoping to begin getting first team minutes through the back end of this season. If they go down, he’s in a prime position to be a regular in the Championship next year.

Another who could be on the way out is striker Donnell McNeilly, who is into the final 6 months of his Chelsea contract. There’s “interest from EFL clubs and overseas sides” according to the Evening Standard, and we expect a free or cheap transfer to be agreed with all of Chelsea’s chips being gambled on a larger sell on fee.

Kellyman deal continues to puzzle

Omari Kellyman in training for Chelsea

Omari Kellyman in training for Chelsea

One player who won’t be going anywhere is bizarre summer flop Omari Kellyman. Bought for Aston Villa for a shockingly large £19m, he’s had a hamstring injury pretty much ever since and will apparently now stay at the club for the rest of the season to continue his rehab rather than risk going on loan for the second half of the season.