Youngster reacts to 'shock' Chelsea transfer

17-year-old defender Ishe Samuels-Smith revealed he was 'shocked' by his move to Chelsea from Everton.

90min reported last week that the Blues had fended off competition from Manchester City, Newcastle United and Tottenham to secure the services of the defender who'd been a regular for Everton's Under-21 side last season.

Chelsea officially announced the deal on Saturday, with the youngster putting pen to paper on a reported three-year contract at Stamford Bridge.

Speaking following the move to the club's official website, Samuels-Smith said: "It was a shock to me because it all happened quickly, but I’m really glad to be here. It’s going to be a good experience coming into such a big club. It will be a new challenge because there are top players here, so I am going to have to adapt quickly and get through the levels."

READ THE LATEST CHELSEA NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOURS & GOSSIP

The Blues had previously tried to sign Samuels-Smith last summer but failed to agreed terms on that occasion. Now, however, they have got the deal over the line for the youngster.

Samuels-Smith can play either a centre-back or as a left-back and represents England at Under-17 level. While he didn't make a senior appearance for his previous club Everton, he was included in a few matchday squads for Carabao Cup games.

The defender joins a long list of young players Chelsea have signed under new ownership Todd Boehly. Along with Samuels-Smith, the Blues have also recently signed the likes of 20-year-old Malo Gusto, 19-year-old Andrey Santos, and 18-year-old Diego Moreira.

LISTEN NOW

On this week's edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders is joined by Toby Cudworth and Graeme Bailey to discuss Man Utd closing in on Inter goalkeeper Andre Onana, Chelsea's push for Moises Caicedo, Dusan Vlahovic, Romeo Lavia, the future of Real Madrid's Federico Valverde & more!

If you can't see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!