Chelsea confirmed the signing of Eden Hazard's younger brother, Thorgan, from Lens.
The 19-year-old, who had just one year remaining in his contract with Lens, joins his elder brother at Stamford Bridge, having made 14 senior appearances for the French club. The Blues have bought the youngster based on potential, and after Eden Hazard has repeatedly said he thinks his younger brother is more talented than him.
Chelsea confirmed Thorgan would link-up with their under-21 team, and would then look at the possibility of sending out the teenager on loan.
"He will now join our under-21 squad, managed by Dermot Drummy, to continue his pre-season training and a loan move is being considered to continue his development," a statement on the club's official website said.
Thorgan, two years younger than Eden, and plays in a similar position to his brother, moved to Lens as a 14-year-old. He graduated into the senior squad for the 2011/12 season and made his debut as a substitute in the first league match of the season, going on to make 14 league appearances.
A Belgian youth international, he has represented his nation across age groups starting from under-16 to under-19, and the youngster represented Belgium at the 2011 European under-19 Championship.
If Thorgan eventually establishes himself in Chelsea's first team, the Hazard brothers will become the fifth sibling duo to represent the Stamford Bridge club. They will join Ray and Graham Wilkins, Ron and Allan Harris, John and Peter Sillett and Chris and William Ferguson.
Chelsea also announced they had agreed loan deals for three of their youngsters. "The club can also confirm deals have been completed for three young players to go on loan for the season -- attacking midfielder/forward Ulises Davila to Spanish second division team Sabadell and striker Milan Lakovic and goalkeeper Matej Delac to Vitoria Guimaraes in the Portuguese top flight," a statement read.
Meanwhile, Chelsea announced they will send a youth team to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur this week for a week-long tour.
"We are delighted to be travelling to Asia with our youth team," academy director Neil Bath said. "Our first team attended Asia for their pre-season in 2011 and we are pleased to be doing the same.
"We have two good games scheduled against the U-19 LEO All-Star team and the Malaysian National U-19 team.
"It will be a new experience for all of our players to be travelling to Asia and we are very much looking forward to it."
