Todd Boehly draws up new Chelsea strategy with double signing

Updated: 10 Aug 2026 21:34 BST | 6 min read

Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

Make us your Google favourite

Chelsea have struck deals for two US youth internationals in a matter of weeks in what could be a concerted effort to tap more into the American market.

Article continues under the video

In recent years, the Blues have made it their mission to sign the best young talents in the world. The results have to date been mixed, hence the surprising signings of veterans Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson this summer, but the idea hasn't been completely abandoned.

Chelsea remain attentive to developments in youth football, as evidenced by the fact that they are set to sign 15-year-old Benji Flowers and 16-year-old Vicente Garcia, according to The Athletic.

Both players happen to be American youth internationals who have yet to make their debuts in Major League Soccer. Flowers is on the books at FC Dallas, while Garcia is signed to the LA Galaxy.

The latter is a year ahead in his development and has been playing for the Galaxy's reserves, Ventura County, in MLS Next Pro since 2025. Flowers, meanwhile, is in his first season with North Texas.

Chelsea sign Flowers and Garcia

Because of their age, neither will be able to actually join Chelsea anytime soon. Garcia will become eligible to move to the UK in the summer of 2028, while Flowers will have to wait an additional year.

The fact that Chelsea have once again spent money on unproven youngsters who won't be able to meaningfully develop in the club's academy may prompt eye-rolls from supporters who are fed up with the club's failed youth transfer policy.

However, it is worth noting that Chelsea aren't breaking the bank for these prospects - and the deal for Flowers includes provisions to ensure that he gets regular minutes in the coming years. The more Dallas play him, the more money they will get.

Chelsea will pay the MLS franchise $3 million upfront, but this sum can rise close to $9m in performance-related add-ons. It's a significant fee for Dallas but hardly a major outlay for Chelsea. Garcia will also reportedly cost around $3m.

The fact that the Blues have given Dallas an incentive to play Flowers means that there is a clear plan in place for him. Their approach to signing talent can appear haphazard, but they evidently rate the 15-year-old very highly.

Of course, there is no guarantee that Flowers or Garcia will ever actually feature for Chelsea. Player development isn't linear, so you're naturally

taking a gigantic risk when you sign prospects that still have to develop years in advance.

There is also a major difference between being a good player and being a player that can play for Chelsea. Flowers and Vicente could become perfectly fine European-level players, but that may not be enough to play for an elite Premier League side.

You could take a cynical view and argue that they would be wasted at Chelsea in that case, but you could also look at it from a different perspective: developing at an elite European club can be hugely beneficial.

Chelsea undoubtedly have one of the best youth setups in world football, it just hasn't been really noticeable in recent years because most good prospects get sold for "pure profit" to fund the club's insane player-trading model before they establish themselves in the first team.

Failing at Chelsea and ending up at a club like Anderlecht, PSV or Sporting CP is probably still more beneficial for a player's career - and, by extension, for the USMNT - than staying in MLS.

The LA Galaxy Pathway 💫

We have signed @lagalaxyacademy products Riley Dalgado, Jose “Pepe” Magaña, Owen Pratt and Vicente Garcia to Homegrown contracts.

📰: https://t.co/PbMDTJNQs2 pic.twitter.com/7qzbdsRJpc
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) January 17, 2025

Are Chelsea making a new American push?

The signings of Flowers and Garcia suggest that Chelsea could be looking to tap into the American market again. Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital have taken a very American approach to running their club, they are just missing the one key ingredient that makes a team popular: success.

Chelsea certainly looked to be on course to becoming America's team when they won the Champions League with Christian Pulisic before the takeover, but things went downhill very quickly.

Pulisic was sold to AC Milan in 2023, and neither promising goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina nor left-back Caleb Wiley has made a single appearance since joining from the Chicago Fire in late 2022 and Atlanta United in mid-2024, respectively.

Chelsea also have Tucson-born Landon Emenalo on their books, and the 18-year-old defender has certainly made an impression in pre-season, but whether this will translate into any genuine first-team success remains to be seen.

A survey carried out by Men in Blazers at the start of the year showed that Chelsea were the third-most popular Premier League team in the US among the respondents (13%), trailing Liverpool (22%) and Arsenal (16%).

Interestingly, Man City were the only "big six" team not actually in the top six. They ranked eighth behind Everton and Fulham and just ahead of Crystal Palace and Leeds - all clubs that have either had notable American players throughout their history or have current US internationals on their books.

Why is this in any way relevant? Because Chelsea know the value of the American market better than anyone, and they know that they need to tap into it more. They have to try to boost their commercial revenues whichever way they can after repeatedly breaching financial regulations.

An easy win in this regard is signing American players. Given that there aren't many current internationals who are good enough to play for Chelsea, they have to bet on the future. It is not a sustainable strategy, but it is a strategy.

Tangible on-pitch success would be a better way to drive meaningful growth, but Chelsea haven't genuinely challenged for major honours since that 2021 Champions League, so they need to find other ways to stay relevant.

Players are assets to Chelsea - it would be naive to think that they view the signings of Flowers and Garcia purely through a sporting lens.