Is Chelsea ready for Freddy?

Yet again buzz about Freddy Adu's future is all over the internet thanks to reports out of London. It seems Chelsea is moving fast to try and snatch the 16-year-old, thus keeping him away from Manchester United.

Because of the setup in MLS, Chelsea will have to negotiate with the league and the player to make this happen. Reports say that they have offered an initial £5 million ($8.75 million) for Adu.

Adu’s agent Dan Segal, hoping to keep every possibility available as long as possible, is in no rush to finalize a deal. His response to this news, "All I would like to say at this stage is that Freddy has obviously attracted a lot of interest internationally. We are mindful of the fact that he will turn 17 in the summer. At this stage nothing has truly been decided."

In the past Adu has said that Chelsea would be his dream team, but one must wonder how much playing time he would get with the Blues. If he is unhappy with his lack of time at DC, what makes him think he will get much more team with one of the best teams in the world?

That said, I'm sure he would get more intense training at Stamford Bridge and who knows what he would be able to pickup from his teammates.

I think the biggest disappointment I would feel with a move by Adu would be his lack of any* standout moments in the MLS. Yes, he had a couple great goals last year, but nothing that will really leave a mark. I feel that a lot of this is due to his lack of time on the pitch. The kid has talent, but he really was never given the chance to show it off.

One final thing, I hope Freddy doesn't think that a move to Chelsea would gain him points with Arena ahead of Germany. I doubt this is much of a factor in his mind, but if it is, he should remove it as quick as possible.

Update: D over at DCenters has a great take on the Adu situation. He also answers my biggest disappointment, but not directly. What I mean is this site seems to equate the MLS with the worse of Major League Baseball. I do not agree with that.

Yes, I am disappointed that the number of Adu moments are few, but I don't think that is because the league is a joke. Adu is playing on a team with a lot of good players in their midfield. With that much talent around, everyone is going to get fewer minutes then they should.

* Finally, in my post I said that "his lack of any standout moments" was sad. In hindsight, that probably should be "many" instead of "any."