The 19-year-old Frenchman became the latest big-money young arrival at Stamford Bridge in January despite his limited first-team experience
Barely a transfer window goes by now without Chelsea splashing out on a relatively-unknown young player as they continue their relentless drive to recruit the planet's best emerging talent. The latest to join their ranks during the winter window was 19-year-old midfielder Mathis Amougou.
The Frenchman has barely half a season of senior first-team football under his belt, but that was not enough to deter the free-spending Blues as they forked out €15 million (£12m/$16m) to pry him away from Saint-Etienne on deadline day in early February.
It was another signing that raised eyebrows among increasingly-perplexed Chelsea fans and rival supporters alike, but this might just turn out to be a very shrewd piece of business.
GettyWhere it all began
Now 19 years old, Amougou was born alongside a twin brother to Cameroonian parents in January 2006 in the north-eastern Parisian suburb of Le Blanc-Mesnil – a stone's throw from the Bondy neighbourhood that French international stars Kylian Mbappe and William Saliba call home.
Amougou has always been surrounded by football in a part of the world that has become a conveyor belt for talent; he was first exposed to the beautiful game at his older brother's training sessions and played with his siblings on the touchline at his father's Sunday League matches.
After his family moved further east out of the city, he joined his first club, Entente Brie Est, aged six and then Torcy closer to Paris in 2014. There he would play well above his age grade and was enrolled in France's prestigious national football academy, Clairefontaine, where he was named captain of his age group.
Having been scouted by Saint-Etienne and after training with their academy, Amougou officially joined Les Verts in 2021 aged 15. By the age of 16, he already had an outfitting contract with German sportswear giant adidas.
AdvertisementThe big break
It did not take Amougou long to make an impression in his new surroundings, with the then-16-year-old earning a swift promotion to Saint-Etienne's second team, who play in France's fifth tier, in 2022. He would make his international bow the same year, turning out for France's U16s before being quickly moved up to the U17 group.
Although he was yet to make his first-team debut for Les Verts, the teenager was handed his first professional contract in April 2023 at the age of 17 – a demonstration of the club's belief in the young midfielder's ability.
It was the 2023-24 campaign that proved to be something of a breakthrough; Amougou starred for France at the U17 World Cup in Indonesia, scoring a sublime early goal against South Korea in the group stage and a vital 85th-minute equaliser in the final before Les Bleuets were defeated by Germany on penalties. He was subsequently awarded the Bronze Ball having been voted the third-best player at the tournament.
A week later, he was given his senior Saint-Etienne debut in a Coupe de France loss to Nimes in December 2023. Amougou's Ligue 2 bow then followed a few days shy of his 18th birthday in January 2024 as he came off the bench against Laval, although that would be his only appearance on that stage all season as he continued with the B team while Les Stephanois secured promotion back to Ligue 1.
Getty Images SportHow it's going
To say it's been a whirlwind seven months for the teenager since the beginning of the new season would be a huge understatement. After helping France to the final of the U19 Euros in the summer, Amougou was permanently integrated into the first-team setup at Saint-Etienne by former manager Olivier Dall'Oglio.
Surprisingly, the 18-year-old was a starter right from the off as the 2024-25 campaign got underway, making a very assured Ligue 1 debut against Monaco on the opening day. "Mathis does not surprise me," Dall'Oglio said in August. "Since he returned [from international duty], he brings an extra touch, his technique and his vision of the game.
"This summer, I felt he was a player who was freed from many constraints to play with us. He has more maturity in his game. In the friendly matches, he showed a lot of qualities. He has moved up a notch."
Although he would lose his starting place in October amid Les Verts' overall struggles, and despite his lack of senior experience, it seems Amougou had already done enough to pique Chelsea's interest – a club that cannot resist spending big on high-potential youngsters at the moment.
As the January transfer window ticked down, the Blues sprung on deadline day to sign the inexperienced Amougou for a cool €15m (£12m/$16m), on a lengthy eight-year contract, having been left short of midfield options with injury-plagued Romeo Lavia sidelined again and Carney Chukwuemeka leaving for Borussia Dortmund on loan.
Predictably, the Frenchman has had to be patient as he gets to grips with the rigours of the English game, but head coach Enzo Maresca did hand him a seven-minute debut cameo off the bench in the demolition of Southampton at Stamford Bridge at the end of February. Although the 19-year-old understandably looked a little shaky, he completed all seven of the passes he attempted in his brief time on the pitch.
GettyBiggest strengths
Amougou has an all-action approach and shows serious promise as a shuttling box-to-box midfielder who is comfortable with the ball at his feet, passing forward and crashing into tackles.
Saint-Etienne sporting director Loic Perrin previously described him as "a complete player, intelligent in the game, clean in his way of playing", while his former manager Dall'Oglio said of him: "Compared to his age, he is a boy who is mature, he is calm, he takes a step back and he is capable of thinking well on the pitch. He quickly understands tactically on the pitch."
The step up to the Premier League is of course a significant one, but France youth coach Jean-Luc Vannuchi believes Amougou has the attributes to make it to the top. He told : "He is a good team-mate. He is really a good boy, good in every way. Mathis has very good ability to project himself, whether with or without the ball.
"He is capable of breaking lines in possession. Mathis is a player who likes to take spaces without the ball, he is always demanding. He has variety. Mathis is a boy who covers a lot of ground. He has good quality of passing, a good reading of the game and his projection in front of the goal also allows him to score."
Vannuchi added: "Mathis is someone who does not hide, he always offers solutions to the ball carrier. He often manages to get out of it with a good pass or by eliminating the opponent. In my eyes, he is a player who is complete, even if of course there is still work to be done."