Charles Musonda, known as Charly Musonda or Charly Musonda Junior, is a Belgian professional footballer who plays for Chelsea of the. Mainly an attacking midfielder, he can play as a winger.
On 11 June 2012, Musonda joined Chelsea, along with his two older brothers, after the club previously agreed to pay a "compensation fee" to Anderlecht. On 24 October 2013, he signed a professional contract with the club, after already being a regular with the under-18s. On 5 March 2015, after already being a regular with the club's under-21 team, Musonda signed a contract extension until 2019. He attracted interest from French clubs Monaco and Olympique de Marseillein the summer, after impressing in both UEFA Youth League and FA Youth Cup winning campaigns, but nothing came of it. After not making any first team appearance during the first half of the 2015–16 season, Musonda asked to leave due to lack of opportunities in December. In January 2016, he rejected a loan move from Standard Liège. On 29 January 2016, Musonda joined La Liga side Real Betison loan until the end of the season, without the option of making the move permanent. He made his professional debut on 7 February, starting in a 1–0 home win against Valencia, where he also was awarded Man of the Match. Six days later, Musonda scored his first professional goal in a 2–2 draw at Deportivo de La Coruña. On 22 June, Musonda's loan at Real Betis was extended for the 2016–17 campaign. On 1 January 2017, after only making one start in the eight appearances Musonda made under manager Gus Poyet, the Belgian returned to Chelsea. In December 2016, Musonda appeared to have returned to Chelsea after being seen training with the first-team squad, with Chelsea presumably terminating his loan spell at Real Betis. On 1 January 2017, it was confirmed by Real Betis that Chelsea had recalled the Belgian. With manager Antonio Conte unsure whether Musonda was to stay with the Blues or be loaned out, interest arose from many clubs around Europe, including Roma. However, after the conclusion of the January transfer window, Antonio Conte confirmed in a post-match press conference preceding Chelsea's 1–1 away draw with Liverpool, that Nathan Aké, Kenedy and Musonda would be staying at the club for the rest of the 2016–17 campaign. Musonda made his debut for Chelsea on 6 August 2017 in the 2017 FA Community Shield against Arsenal, coming on as a substitute after 84 minutes. He made his first starting appearance for the club in an EFL Cup tie against Nottingham Forest, scoring the third goal in a 5–1 victory on 20 September 2017. On 29 January 2018, Musonda joined Celtic on an 18-month loan deal. He made his debut the following day in a 3–1 victory over Heart of Midlothian at Celtic Park. The loan agreement was terminated in May 2018, as Musonda had not received sufficient playing time at Celtic. He then departed Chelsea once again, joining Eredivisie side Vitesse on a season-long loan from 31 August, having missed out on Chelsea's 23-man squad ahead of the Premier League season. Musonda then agreed to remain there on loan for a second season during the following July.
Charly attended Richard Challoner School in New Malden. Musonda's older brothers, Lamisha and Tika were also youth graduates at Chelsea and Anderlecht. His father, also named Charles, was also a footballer who appeared mainly for Anderlecht, and was an international regular for Zambia.
