Tottenham’s youth setup has produced several great talents over the years and Nya Kirby would probably rank the top 10. Yet, he no longer plays for Spurs after making the switch to Crystal Palace in the summer. As he is still only 16, Spurs are chasing a compensation fee from Crystal Palace which is yet to be set by the tribunal. Tottenham can easily expect a couple of millions for the midfielder, who once came close to joining Chelsea.
The blues, along with the likes of Manchester United and Manchester City, were thought to be extremely keen on Kirby so much so that he was even on trial with the West London outfit. Kirby even went on to feature for the club in the pre-season, but Chelsea had to pull out of the deal at the last moment. Latest reports from Metro has confirmed that the club were threatened by Tottenham, who saw Chelsea’s interest in Kirby as a case of tapping up.
After having already experienced huge repercussions with the transfer of Gael Kakuta a few years ago, Chelsea backed out of the deal in order to avoid any FA probe.
Kirby has already been at a number of London clubs over the last few years, but it is not due to the lack of talent. He has been with trials at the likes of Arsenal, but Spurs thought that they had done enough to retain the player on a long-term basis after offering him a scholarship. Kirby, though, turned down this offer in order to get a trial with Chelsea. The blues were extremely confident of landing him on a permanent basis, while it is understood that even the player was keen on a move to Stamford Bridge.
Even though Chelsea do not have the greatest reputation when it comes to promoting players from within their youth set up, Kirby saw the West London outfit’s interest as more desirable. It is certainly surprising considering that Chelsea were only able to name him in the under 18 squad during the pre-season, while Kirby could have had the opportunity to play with the Tottenham first team as they prepared for the Europa League games against Borussia Dortmund. Kirby could have been mixing it with the likes of Dele Alli and Harry Kane: instead, he is now with Crystal Palace, who are staring at the possibility of a relegation.
Considering that Kirby is yet to turn 18, he has not been able to sign a professional contract with Crystal Palace just yet. It still leaves the door open for clubs like Chelsea to come in with a concrete offer, while Spurs will still be hoping that Kirby decides to return to White Hart Lane.
