Charly Musonda’s strange career is set to come to an end this summer and wants to bring the Belgian to Roma on a free transfer.
The 25-year-old has been with the Blues since 2012 when they brought him in from Anderlecht, but in a decade with the club he has made just seven first team appearances, all in the 2017-18 season.
There have been loan spells at Real Betis, Celtic and Vitesse, while a serious knee ligament injury in 2018 really hampered his progress.
Betis was where he has been able to shine brightest, during his stint there in the 2015-16 season and the Spanish side are interested in snapping him up as well.
However, it is Roma who appear to be in pole position to sign him this summer, with reporting that Mourinho wanted him on loan in January and has been working on securing the free transfer ever since. Hellas Verona are also interested.
Musonda confirmed in December that he was leaving Chelsea but did not want to, explaining the quite odd situation surrounding his upcoming departure and how he was informed of it by Petr Cech.
‘It definitely wasn’t my decision [to leave at the end of the season],’ Musonda told
‘My ambition was always to play for Chelsea, and I always said I was either going to leave because I wasn’t good enough or if I was told I have to go.
‘Obviously having been out for the last two or three years it was a bit difficult with my injury. I did everything I could, I worked as hard as I could… to just be fit, to be able to be a part of the first team in pre-season, which was something I did and I was very happy about it.
‘I was very optimistic that I was going to be able to train with the first team and be back in the team and then build up my fitness.
‘I spoke with Petr Cech and he basically explained to me that the contract, it is what it is and there’s one year left and the club won’t let you go on loan if you don’t sign the contract’ he continued.
‘My initial talk was… simply saying listen, I appreciate the contract, I see where the club is coming from, my initial thinking would be to stay here and be with the team.
‘I don’t really care as long as I can show what I can do here, because I came to Chelsea to try and play here.
‘I spoke to the manager and… said I would play here for free and it’s not the question of the contract, so I was disappointed I didn’t play against Weymouth. ‘[I explained] I will literally play for free this year and if I’m doing well then next year we can talk about [an extension].
‘It’s not about the money… it’s either I’m good enough to play for Chelsea or I’m not good enough to play for Chelsea.’
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