Following the glass ceiling being shattered by a number of Chelsea’s brilliant young talents during Frank Lampard’s tenure, it is probably easy to forget the name of Jeremie Boga.
The now 24-year-old was once a highly rated figure of Cobham’s consistent production line of developing players.
Featuring in the first team under Antonio Conte before being sold to Serie A side Sassuolo in the summer of 2018. Chelsea had inserted a buyback clause in the sale of Boga for around £13m but failed to activate it when rumours swirled of a potential return in the major summer spend of 2020.
During the Ivory Coast’s 3-0 victory over Malawi on Saturday, Boga rounded off his nation’s dominant display to go top of their qualifying group for the 2022 World Cup with a superb strike.
Evading a flurry of Malawi attempts to dispossess the winger before wriggling free and curing a sweetly struck left-footed effort into the top corner.
This is the sort of individual brilliance supporters of the Neroverdi have become accustomed to since Boga’s move to Italy in search of more first-team opportunities.
From his opening seven games this season for Sassuolo, Boga has found the back of the net twice. Once in an opening day win over Hellas Verona, and then the winner in a tight affair with Salernitana two weeks ago. Jeremie Boga was a product of Chelsea’s academy before being sold to Serie A side Sassuolo in 2018.
(Image: Yifan Ding/Getty Images)
Boga only made one appearance for Chelsea’s senior team and it was on the opening day of the 2017/18 season against Burnley. In a twist of bad fortune for the winger, Gary Cahill’s early red card forced Conte into an early switch, sacrificing Boga for another defender.
A few weeks later he was loaned out to the Championship with Birmingham and never returned before being sold.
The Blues have a flurry of exciting attacking options on their books currently as you list the likes of Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi. Though the direct running and trickery of Boga from his favoured left side was something supporters felt could have been better utilised before allowing him to leave.
Boga’s numbers did decrease last term after his standout year in Serie A during the 2019/20 season where he hit 11 goals and registered nine assists in total.
With a decent chunk of his career left, and clear talent to spark moments of inspiration within games, it will be intriguing to see if Boga ever does return to the Premier League.
What are your thoughts on Boga’s career and should Chelsea regret letting him go? Follow our CareFreeChelsea Writer Daniel Childs on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below
Source by Football London
