Chelsea transfer news: Contract extension, loan to European giant confirmed for striker with "great quality"

Chelsea have announced that teenage striker Shim Mheuka has signed a new contract with the club through to the summer of 2031.

The West Londoners have also confirmed that the 18-year-old will spent the 2026-27 season on loan at Scottish champions Celtic.

Mheuka joined Chelsea’s academy at the age 13 and worked his way through the club’s youth ranks before making his senior debut in December 2024.

The Birmingham-born striker has made a total of nine first-team appearances for Chelsea, and he made history in March 2025 as the youngest player to start for the club in a European competition in a 2-1 away win over Copenhagen in the Conference League.

Mheuka was named the 2025-26 Premier League 2 Player of the Season after captaining Chelsea Under-21s to the title, scoring 18 goals in 19 games.

He is now looking forward to a new challenge on loan at Celtic, where he will wear the number 29 shirt.

Chelsea's Mheuka "over the moon" to join Celtic on loan

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— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) September 2, 2026

Speaking to CelticPlayer, Mheuka said: “It's amazing. Walking in, I could feel the echo and the surround sound of the stadium. You almost feel the history as you walk in.

“It's a real feeling. I wish everyone could feel it, an amazing feeling and I'm so, so happy to be here.

“This is something that I've been doing since I was a little kid. And to be able to do it in front of the Celts, the fans and show my ability in front of them, it's something that I can't wait to do. It's almost a feeling of excitement rather than nerves.

“I can't wait to score at Celtic Park. You know, I'll be chasing that feeling every game, every chance that I get.

“I’m over the moon, buzzing to be here. I'm eager, if you can't tell, so yeah, I'm ready. Let's go.”

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill added: “Shim has great quality, hence Chelsea extending his contract, however I think this period of his career, spent with us, will be beneficial to him and obviously to us.

“I look forward to working with him, he is a player who I think can give us another great attacking dimension and I’m sure he will make an important contribution to Celtic.”  

Goalkeeper Johnstone joins Celtic on loan from Wolves

No. 2️⃣6️⃣#WelcomeSam | #CelticFC? pic.twitter.com/FVXhteruN1

— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) September 2, 2026

Meanwhile, Celtic have also completed the signing of goalkeeper Sam Johnstone on a season-long loan deal from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The 33-year-old will provide competition for Viljami Sinisalo and Ross Doohan between the sticks and departs Molineux after making 17 appearances for the Old Gold last season.

“It’s a great feeling, I’m buzzing to be here and I'm excited to get going," Johnstone told CelticPlayer. “I didn't need convincing by anyone, but Joe Hart rang me the other day just to reiterate what a place this is, what a great group of lads and how the fans are unbelievable.

“Like I said, I didn't need convincing, but for someone like that to ring me up and reiterate again the size of the club and what it means to people, it just made me so excited to get here and get started.

“I think everyone knows the goalie groups are a tight-knit group. We work closely together every day and hopefully I can help Vil and he can help me, and we push each other and we support each other along with the other goalies and the goalie coaches.

“You hear about the size of the club, and you know about the size of the club, but just being here for a day, you notice how big the club is, and the pressure to win, which is what I like – pressure to win, pressure to perform and we all want to win trophies.

“You hear about the atmosphere at the stadium and that's something I can't wait to play in front of.”

Celtic play host to Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership tonight (Wednesday), but both Johnstone and Mheuka could be ready to make their debuts for the club in Saturday's top-flight trip to St Mirren.