Chelsea are reportedly close to signing 17-year-old centre-forward Jann-Fiete Arp, despite interest from Arsenal and Manchester City.

The youngster made his debut for Hamburg in the Bundesliga this season. In similar fashion to Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah, his first appearance only lasted a minute, but his second brought his first senior goal. Now Arp has two in four games, as well as a ridiculous seven in three games for the u19s.

Now, according to the Mirror, Chelsea have returned for the youngster. The Blues reportedly tried to sign the youngster in the summer, but were unsuccessful, as the striker believed he would have more of a chance of senior action with Hamburg. That theory has turned out to be correct, but Chelsea’s interest has only increased as a result.

It seems to be more of a money-making scheme

The Daily Star write that Hamburg president Heribert Bruchhagen said of the player: “He will stay with us. His advisor Jürgen Milewski has promised me and sporting director Jens Todt. He will develop with us.”

It seems that statement is going to be put to the test over the coming months.

Chelsea have a habit of going in for the top young players, as evidenced by the fact their u18 side is currently first in the league. However, it seems to be more of a money-making scheme, as they sell most of the youngsters on without giving them a chance in the first-team.

Arsenal, on the other hand, have been pretty terrible at getting anything more than the bare minimum for their youth products in the transfer market.

But they do have a great record at giving academy players opportunities in the first team.

If Arp really is deciding between the two clubs, you’d hope he’d take that into consideration when making his choice.