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Chelsea have officially announced the signing of Serbian teenager Danilo Pantic from Partizan Belgrade. The statement on the club’s official website added that the player will be immediately joining Chelsea’s Dutch feeder club Vitesse Arnhem on loan for the 2015/16 season.
“Chelsea Football Club is delighted to announce the signing of Danilo Pantic from Partizan Belgrade, with the player immediately joining Vitesse Arnhem for the forthcoming campaign,” Chelsea’s press release stated.
Pantic has represented Serbia at the U17 & U19 levels and impressed at the European Under-19 Championship last year shining in their run to the semi-final stage. He carried forward his form to club level as well with stand-out performances in Holland’s top tier and Europa League.
He is a skillful midfielder who can play either on the left or through the centre as an attacking threat. But with the abundance of midfielders at Stamford Bridge, he will continue his development for now in the Eredivisie.
Vitesse already have three Chelsea players in their squad for the upcoming season. Promising English duo of Isaiah Brown and Lewis Baker joined the Dutch club this summer along with Brazilian Nathan who moved to Chelsea from Atletico Paranaense during the early part of the transfer window.
Pantic’s move long time in the waiting
The 18-year-old has already featured for the Eredivisie club in pre-season friendlies and it is understood that paperwork issues had prevented The Blues from confirming the deal allegedly signed in June. With all legalities now sorted out, Pantic is now officially a Chelsea player.
The Premier League champions had been tracking the youngster for quite some time with some reports suggesting that a deal had been agreed between the two parties way back in January. This was however dismissed by the player.
“It’s true I’ve been the talk of the town lately, but I know I didn’t sign anything with Chelsea. They showed interest, but no concrete deal was struck.
“I’m still Partizan player with five more months of contract and focussed on preparations. The early part of winter training is extremely fierce and you need a clear head to go through it,” Pantic had said at the start of the year, according to Partizan’s official website.
Now that the move has been completed, Jose Mourinho will be hoping the arrangement with Vitesse that has proved so fruitful for Chelsea in the past can continue with the development of yet another top prospect.
