ALFIE Gilchrist was once tipped by fellow homegrown Chelsea defender John Terry to follow in his glorious footsteps.
The Terry seal of approval came midway through the 2023/4 season which ended with Gilchrist signing a new contract, scoring his first senior goal for the Blues and being named Academy Player of the Year.
But things move fast and the lifelong Chelsea fan is close to becoming the latest youth-team star to leave the club in search of first-team opportunities.
In fairness to the Blues, homegrown trio Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah and Levi Colwill are three of the players who have blocked Gilchrist’s path into the first-team defence as a right back or centre back.
But the club policy of buying young talent from around the world has also pushed him towards the exit door.
Even before the arrival of Jorrel Hato, the 19-year-old signed from Ajax for £37m, the writing was on the wall for Gilchrist, now 21.
While he was still on loan at Sheffield United, Aaron Anselmino, 19 at the time, was recalled from loan at former club Boca Juniors and went on to play at the Club World Cup.
Mamadou Sarr, also 19, was signed from Strasbourg earlier in this window before being loaned back to the sister club.
So Gilchrist is all but certain to move in the coming weeks.
But it need not be a case of taking one step backwards to take two forward, if interest from the Bundesliga turns into something concrete.
Championship clubs including Derby, Blackburn and MIddlesbrough are on the scene after Gilchrist’s decent stint at Sheffield United last season.
He has also caught the eye of Saudi Pro League sides.
Yet Germany might turn out to be the most attractive prospect after a number of young English players blazed a trail there in recent years.
Including one of Chelsea’s incoming players this summer, Jamie Gittens.
The winger, like Jadon Sancho before him, left Manchester City for Borussia Dortmund as a teenager and came back to England as a player worth tens of millions.
If Gilchrist chooses the same route, he will hope to do the same,
For now, though, wherever he goes, he will cost less than Chelsea’s original £8m asking price and perhaps under £5m.
DERRY BOY
NEW Chelsea signing Jesse Derry has already been branded ‘Proper Chels’ for a post he made on social media on the day his move was announced.
After sending a heartfelt goodbye to former club Crystal Palace, the tricky winger posted a picture of himself as a child in a classic Chelsea shirt with the caption ‘From young. UTC (Up the Chels)’
The son of former Premier League player Shaun Derry also posted the official announcement pictures with the caption “A dream come true to join the world champions “
The 18 year old looked set to follow Jadon Sancho’s pathway, with a move to the Bundesliga seeming imminent before the Blues swept him off his feet and away from Selhurst Park.
Derry also has a cousin at Chelsea in the form of Reggie Watson, a highly rated academy prospect also signed from Palace in the last year.
Derry’s form for Palace’s under-18 side earned him an England call-up. It remains to be seen whether he will stay at Chelsea for the coming season or go out on loan.
SAT-NAV SET TO GREATNESS
IT is no secret that Chelsea have spent a lot of money accruing some of the very best young talent in the world in the last few years.
Estevao Willian, Jorrel Hato, Kendry Paez, Geovany Quenda and Mike Penders will ALL still be under the age of 25 by the time 2030 rolls around.
But one of their youngsters with an incredibly high ceiling might just be going under the radar, in the form of 16-year-old Dastan Satpaev.
The striker has already been likened to Sergio Aguero online, with videos of him playing for Kairat Almaty in Kazakhstan going viral.
Chelsea paid close to £4million to secure his services, with the Kazakh forward set to sign a five-year contract with the option of an extra year when he turns 18.
Satpaev most recently shone in the Champions League second qualifying round for his side, sparking a stunning comeback in a 3-2 win over KuPS Kuopio, and in the process becoming the youngest player to EVER score in the Champions League.
The Blues may just have done it again.
SANTOS’ TAPES
‘HUSTLE’ is not a word taken lightly when you grow up playing football as a kid in Brazil, trying to get noticed by one of the biggest teams in the country before daring to dream about a move to Europe or representing your national team.
But Andrey Santos is a young man who had hustle in abundance, and a determination to make it rarely matched by others.
X account TheSecretScout revealed a message sent directly by Santos a number of years ago in which the young player talked about a YouTube video of him that the wanted to make public.
Santos would’ve been around 16 at the time, the same age at which he made his professional debut for Vasco Da Gama before going on to make 47 appearances for the club.
The message read “hello, I have a video, but I think it’s on the yotuber (YouTube)” followed by a link to footage of him playing for Brazil’s under-15’s at the 2019 South American U-15 Championships.
Santos made it to Europe and Chelsea. A strong season on loan at Strasbourg in 2024/5 has earned him a place in Enzo Maresca’s first-team squad.
But he will need to display even more elite talent and mentality to force his way past Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Romeo Lavia.
DAVID’S BIG HEART
EX-Chelsea defender David Lee is getting on his bike after a brush with mortality.
Lee, 55, who played 151 league games for the Blues between 1988 and 1998, had a life-saving triple-heart bypass operation earlier this year.
To thank the medical staff and do his bit for others in a similar situation, he will cycle 130 miles in two days with friend Paul, from his home near Bristol to Stamford Bridge, aiming to arrive in time for the lunchtime kick off against Fulham on Saturday August 30.
Lee is raising money for the British Heart Foundation and the Chelsea Past Players’ Trust.
Chelsea fans or anyone else wanting to help him reach and beat his £5,000 target can contribute at https://www.gofundme.com/f/cycle-saltford-to-stamford-bridge
TROPHY LIFT?
HOW enthusiastic are Chelsea fans feeling ahead of the new season?
Wednesday’s Together In Glory event at Stamford Bridge should be a decent indication.
Supporters are being given the chance to celebrate with stars from both the men’s and women’s teams after they won five trophies between them last season.
The Club World Cup silverware lifted by Reece James last month will be put in the club museum cabinet for the first time.
And the men’s Conference League silverware, as well as the domestic Treble of trophies won by the women’s team, will also be on display.
When you think that six Chelsea players were part of the England squad that won the women’s Euros, it has been a glittering few months for the club.
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