Chelsea and Crystal Palace miss out as centre-back signs for Bundesliga club

Chelsea and Crystal Palace target Noah Mbamba has signed for Bayer Leverkusen from Club Brugge. The defender has decided to make the move to Germany instead.

The Bundesliga side, who are managed by ex-Liverpool player Xabi Alonso these days, have landed the centre-back on a bumper deal until the summer of 2028. They took to Twitter to announce the addition (see below):

Kicker reported last week that Chelsea and Crystal Palace both ‘tried to attract’ the youngster over to London but they have both now missed out. The report added that two other unnamed Premier League clubs were also keen.

Mbamba, 18, has left a Club Brugge side who are now managed by former Fulham boss Scott Parker. He started his career in the academy at Genk before switching to their league rivals in 2020.

The Belgium youth international was initially a key player for the B team before breaking into the first-team in 2021. He went on to make an impressive 44 appearances in all competitions which helped him emerge on the radar of some other clubs.

It is Bayer Leverkusen who have won the race for his signature in this January transfer window. Chelsea and Crystal Palace will have to look elsewhere for defensive reinforcements. The pair played each other on Sunday with the Blues winning 1-0 courtesy of Kai Havertz’s second-half winner.