Chelsea copy Arsenal by poaching Barcelona youngster

Amid all the speculation that Chelsea are looking to sign the likes of Sanchez, Neymar and Modric amongst others it seems that Villas-Boas’ first signing at Stamford Bridge will be Gael Etock from Barcelona.

According to TalkSport Radio and the Spanish Paper AS, the 17-year-old player from Cameroon is seen as a highly talented prospect for the future. According to reports Etock will join Chelsea on a four-year contract as soon as he turns 18 on July the 5th.

This will upset Barcelona as Arsenal have already poached two of their youngsters, Hector Bellerin and Jon Toral-Harper, already this summer. They are sure to push for a change in the rules to stop the top English teams from poaching their players due to a discrepancy in each country’s rules.

Etock was a student at Samuel Eto’o’s soccer school in Cameroon before being picked up by Barcelona.

However if the deal does go ahead Chelsea will not actually field the player until the 2012-2013 season as he will first go to Sporting Lisbon for a season to get regular playing time and develop as a player.

Chelsea have come under criticism in recent seasons for not bringing through enough younger players and relying on ageing stars, and that it was to blame for their poor season. They are now looking to rectify this by securing young talent and groom them for the future.