Xavier Mbuyamba was on Chelsea’s radar in 2019, but the west London club’s transfer ban prevented him from moving to London.
The defender moved to Barcelona in 2019, and was released a year later, which gave the Blues a fresh opportunity to land him.
Chelsea acquired his services and he joined their ‘development squad’ for the 2020/21 season. The player had to wait until last month to make his first appearance for the U23 side, due to a serious injury he suffered last September.
NOS interviewed the 19-year-old, and he revealed Frank Lampard wanted to bring him to the Premier League side when he was with Dutch side MVV Maastricht.
“When I signed Frank Lampard was still the trainer. He insisted on getting me and wanted to talk to me when I was still playing at MVV,” Mbuyamba said.
“That was the plan, but my second training with the U23 went wrong. I was heavily injured and was out for eight months. When I came back, Lampard was already fired.”
The Netherlands U21 international made five appearances for Chelsea’s U23 side, and managed to score a goal and register an assist.
Thomas Tuchel replaced Lampard at Stamford Bridge in January and Mbuyamba, who is likened to Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk, is aware it won’t be easy to find his way into Chelsea’s first team.
“I immediately focused on recovery and came back stronger. I know there is a lot of pressure on me at Chelsea. I come from FC Barcelona, there is a lot of talk about me and I get the stamp ‘the new Virgil van Dijk’. It doesn’t matter to me. I show that I can handle it and am as good as it is said,” he explained.
“No [I have not heard from Tuchel], the first team stays very much in their own bubble. There is also little overlap of players between the first and U23. My goal is to train with the first team next season in preparation, I hope to hear that soon.”
