Chelsea are no doubt hoping that teenage star Benji Flowers is going to become the next Christian Pulisic.
The ‘LeBron James’ of soccer previously spent several seasons at Stamford Bridge after a big-money move from Borussia Dortmund.
But rather than spending an eight-figure sum on what could be the next big American star, Chelsea have cut out the middleman this time around and agreed a deal for Flowers this summer despite him still technically not being able to sign for the club yet.
Benji Flowers can’t play for Chelsea until 2029
According to FIFA rules, the international transfers of players are only permitted if the player is over the age of 18.
Flowers is still only 15 years of age and will not be 18 until April 2029. So how have the Blues managed to agree a deal?
Well, Aakash Gupta has explained how, and it essentially comes down to the teenager remaining at FC Dallas for several years before he eventually leaves for England once he is 18.
He explained: “Chelsea just paid $3 million for a 15-year-old in Texas who can’t legally play for them until 2029. FIFA bans international transfers of minors, so Europe’s richest clubs built a workaround: a futures market for teenagers.
“Here’s the structure. Chelsea pays FC Dallas now. Benji Flowers signs a first-team deal in Dallas and keeps developing there. The transfer executes automatically when he turns 18. Add-ons tied to his MLS minutes and US youth national team milestones can push the fee to $10 million, and Dallas keeps a sell-on clause. That’s a call option with performance-based strike escalators, written on a kid who hasn’t played an MLS minute.
“Chelsea ran the same play with Kendry Paez in Ecuador at 16. Manchester City did it with Cavan Sullivan in Philadelphia at 14, a deal worth up to $5 million. The repricing of American teenagers is the wildest part. In 2016, Weston McKennie walked from the FC Dallas academy to Schalke for nothing. In 2022, Dallas sold Ricardo Pepi to Augsburg for $20 million.
“Now a 15-year-old commands up to $10 million before his league debut. The math explains everything. Chelsea paid $73 million for Christian Pulisic at 20, after Dortmund captured all the appreciation. Buying the option at 15 costs about 5 to 15 percent of buying the finished player. Most of these bets miss. One Pulisic pays for a decade of misses. Ten years ago American teenagers left for free. Now they trade like call options.”
Flowers, a natural left-winger, is yet to make a senior appearance in the MLS, but he has already notched three caps at U15 level for the USMNT.
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