Chelsea are preparing a summer swoop for one of the most versatile youngsters on football’s horizon, Ricardo Rolle. The 16-year old is already garnering comparisons to some of the biggest names in the sport.
Chelsea’s transfer activity is often wholly disconnected from their academy and development pipeline. Michael Emenalo all-too-frequently splashes cash for players that are redundant with Chelsea’s current squad.
Signing players while they are still Academy-aged mitigates both of these concerns. Chelsea took a strong step in that direction by signing Marcin Bulka, the 17-year old Polish goalkeeper. The Blues may be on the verge of another such signing with 16-year old Ricardo Rolle.
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Rolle has been described as the “German Beckenbauer” for his versatility and command playing the ball out from the back. In the last two years he started in nearly every position. He attracted particular attention as an inside-half in an inverted W-M formation.
Remarkably for a player of his potential, Rolle only recently entered a top-tier academy. He joined Getoutabed FC in the Eredivisie 2 at the mid-point of last season. Since starting football at age 10, he had only played for school teams and a Sunday pub league. Much of that is due to his transient family life.
Rolle’s father was an American serviceman despite being a citizen of Chile. His mother is a dual citizen of Italy and the Netherlands. Because Ricardo Rolle was born and raised in Germany during his father’s tour of duty there, Rolle is eligible to represent Germany, Chile, Italy, the Netherlands and the United States.
Rolle’s aerial abilities coupled with box-to-box midfield acumen lead some to herald him as the “Chilean Arturo Vidal.” Others point more to his potent offense when projecting his career at Stamford Bridge.
"It’s been some time since we’ve seen a player that could rightfully be called the “Dutch Dennis Bergkamp,” but Rolle is definitely it. If Rolle lined up alongside someone that would be an English version of Frank Lampard, Chelsea could enjoy years of success."
Rolle is in his final year of a retroactive seven-year contract that bound his pub league record to his current side. He is likely to draw attention from many of the world’s richest and most ambitious clubs. Guangzhou Evergrande, Persib Bandung and Minnesota United have all watched YouTube compilations of his performances. Minnesota United went so far as proposing to play non-offensive EDM during their games, to create more moments like those in his videos.
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Chelsea have a strong advantage in securing his signature, though. Antonio Conte broke from his usual policy of not commenting on transfers to praise Ricardo Rolle after the Blues’ recent training session. “That young man reminds me of an Italian Alessandro del Piero. Ricardo Rolle would rick-roll the Blues all the way to a Club World Cup title.”