16-year-old Chelsea midfielder Michael Golding has enjoyed another impressive performance as the U21 side returned to EFL Trophy action last night.
The young Blues were dumped out of the competition after a 4-0 defeat to Cheltenham Town, although the scoreline hardly tells the fully story.
Chelsea were chasing a one-goal deficit in the final couple of minutes, before an injury-time capitulation saw them eventually lose by four.
Golding will perhaps have not been expecting to even feature in last night’s game, as he started from the bench.
However, the youngster, born in 2006, was quickly called upon after an injury suffered by striker Donnel McNeilly.
Out of position, Golding impressed as the Blues looked to get back into the game, taking only minutes to work the goalkeeper for the first time.
Golding impresses for U21s
Despite the opposition being from League 1, he, alongside his teammates, put in a fine showing despite not having the likes of Omari Hutchinson available for selection.
With the focus at Chelsea right now very much on investing heavily in the future, Golding should feel inspired and confident that continuing to perform for the youth side will eventually see him given his chance to make the step up to the first team.
He will no doubt take encouragement on how bright the future of Hutchinson and Lewis Hall currently look at Stamford Bridge.
Hall made the step-up to first team football before the World Cup break, starting the club’s last two games against Manchester City and Newcastle. He has since been promoted to the first team permanently.
Hutchinson meanwhile has had to be a bit more patient to get himself on the pitch, after being named on the bench numerous times for the first team.
An impressive performance however in the friendly against Aston Villa at the weekend will surely have alerted Graham Potter to his already evident abilities.
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