Forgotten £19m Chelsea player quietly followed Nicolas Jackson out of Stamford Bridge on deadline day

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Chelsea were involved in a great number of deals throughout the summer transfer window.

The final transaction saw Nicolas Jackson leave Chelsea for Bayern Munich in a loan move – although the German giants are obligated to buy the Senegal international for £56.2m if certain clauses are triggered.

However, another player – Omari Kellyman – left Chelsea on deadline day in a deal nobody seems to be talking about.

Omari Kellyman left Chelsea to join Cardiff on loan

The England U19 international cost Chelsea £19m when he arrived from Aston Villa back in June 2024, penning a six-year contract.

The length of the deal and the price tag suggests Chelsea had high hopes for Kellyman.

However, Kellyman slipped away from Stamford Bridge to join Cardiff on loan for the 2025/26 campaign to little fanfare on transfer deadline day, after falling by the wayside in west London.

The 19-year-old has made just four appearances for the Chelsea U21 side since his arrival and is yet to make his senior debut for the Blues, as hamstring injuries disturbed his progress.

Kellyman had corrective surgery in an attempt to help the situation in March, and has now opted to step down into League One to get his career going once again.

The teenager had made six senior appearances at Aston Villa – providing one assist – so the move to Chelsea has seemingly not been a good one for the sake of his career, so far.

Tottenham backed out of Omari Kellyman deal

TBR Football understand Tottenham were very keen to sign Kellyman before his move to Chelsea.

However, when Spurs discovered the Blues had agreed to spend £19m on the attacking midfielder, they quickly withdrew their interest – an understandable decision.

Tottenham – as well as West Ham and Brighton – were only prepared to pay slightly over £10m for Kellyman, who now has a battle on his hands to return to the level which initially attracted this calibre of clubs.