Talented youngster set to leave Aston Villa

Chelsea are planning to complete the agreement for Aston Villa youngster Omari Kellyman in the next few hours.

It has been widely reported over the weekend that Chelsea are set to sign Kellyman for a fee in the region of £20 million. Personal terms have been agreed and the clubs themselves have agreed to the terms of the deal. All that is left to do now is for Kellyman to complete his medical and move to Stamford Bridge.

Kellyman, who wears number 71 for Villa, signed for the club from Derby County's academy just two years ago. Villa paid just £500,000 for the player and after featuring in just two Premier League games the club have managed to produce a very healthy profit to help raise the funds needed to comply with the Profit and Sustainability Rules.

Kellyman was a stand out star for Aston Villa's Under-21 side in the Premier League 2 last season, scoring 7 goals in just 11 matches from midfield. The start of last season saw Kellyman rewarded with a start in Villa's UEFA Conference League qualifier against Hibernian. He was awarded with the Man of the Match award and gave Villa high hopes that he would make his big breakthrough in the Premier League in the months following.

However, that moment didn't come and Kellyman would only make a couple of brief appearances from the subs bench in the games away at Manchester City and Crysal Palace. Both games saw Villa losing heavily by the time he stepped onto the pitch.

There are a number of Villa fans who have been left frustrated at the news that Kellyman will be leaving the club without being able to demonstrate his ability in the first team. The talent is obvious and the potential of the player to reach the top of the game is high. However, for Monchi and the Villa board to be able to sell the player for over 20x the price he was bought for having not started a Premier League game is astute business at a time when the club need to raise funds to comply with the Premier League's financial rules.

Kellyman's imminent transfer to Chelsea could spell the end of the potential deal between the clubs involving forward Jhon Duran. Duran has been in talks with Chelsea for some time and it was thought a deal was close. However, hesitation as a result of the player's wage demands has seen the talks go quiet and now that Chelsea have swooped in for Kellyman it could mean Duran's future may lie at Villa Park. Villa are still hopeful of a deal being complete to move Duran on and make the reported £40 million fee for the player, but it may now be a case of deal off.

UTV