Chelsea have followed up on their interest in Ghana midfield star Fatawu Ganiwu by offering a trial, according to reports. The player was first linked with the club back in the winter of 2023.
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RB Salzburg, RC Lens, and Bayern Munich are among the others but it appears he has spent some of this week at Cobham. After getting time at the Surrey-based complex, he has even played for the Under-18s.
Twitter/X account, Chelsea Youth, says that Ganiwu got 25 minutes for the academy side against Sheffield United on Tuesday and it has been suggested elsewhere that he could even play for the Under-21s (or development squad) next.
First-team outcasts Alfie Gilchrist and Trevoh Chalobah (who have been given the opportunity to explore moves away this summer) both played in the last Under-21s game against Boreham Wood, also on Saturday. So to did Bashir Humphreys, Alex Matos, Diego Moreira, Mason Burstow, Deivid Washington, and Harvey Vale, all of who have had senior opportunities in the past.
Ganiwu is now attempting to impress at Chelsea, as well as Chelsea hope to impress Ganiwu, with a deal possible. Images of the defensive midfielder at Cobham have already surfaced and the AS Koppan is expected to make a decision on his future soon.
Having risen to prominence at the UEFA Under-16 development tournament, which, in this instance, pitted European countries against Ghana, he also impressed for RB Salzburg during a period there as they played in Brazil. His agency, Louis Bell, Fa Sport, also represents Levi Colwill.
Ganiwu has already posted online with some of his movements, showing off his location in central London, notably not far from Stamford Bridge. The teenager wouldn't be the first African midfielder to catch Chelsea's eye recently either.
In January the Blues also offered a trial to Senegalese ace Pape Daouda Diong. After a trial of his own, in which he even trained with the first team, Diong was signed by BlueCo-owned French Ligue 1 outfit RC Strasbourg, who he will play for under Liam Rosenior.
Chelsea also offered a trial to Ghanian left-back David Oduro earlier this year. The 18-year-old came from Accra Lions but is thought to have hit Visa issues.
As for the emergence of Ganiwu's trial, it comes at a time whereby the club are closing in on agreeing a deal to sell current midfielder Conor Gallagher. Advanced talks with Atletico Madrid are being held, football.london understands, and there will be a wait now to see how Gallagher responds to the interest.
He featured 50 times last season, only missing one game under Mauricio Pochettino - and has formed a key part of squads in the last two years. His exit has already largely been accounted for in the playing group after Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's arrival, but in the long-run, Ganiwau could represent a possible replacement at the heart of midfield.
The next step for Chelsea will be securing the signature of the teenager and getting him on board. From there on in they will be aiming to develop him into a top-class player.
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