Xavier Mbuyamba enjoyed his very first training session with the Chelsea seniors yesterday, almost a year after he became a Blue.
A watchful fan spotted the defender in the background of Saul Niguez’s opening day with his new teammates.
Mbuyamba has yet to truly stamp his mark upon Chelsea after joining from Barcelona last August.
A wonderful prospect, who’s been likened to Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk, the move looked promising for all parties involved.
But repeated injuries and fitness issues have held the 19-year-old back, to the extent some would be excused for forgetting he was still at the club.
Yet, the young Dutchman finally made his Chelsea debut in April, coming off the bench in an U23s fixture against Southampton.
His return was also marked with his maiden goal for the Blues.
Since then, Mbuyamba has played seven more times and was even named captain in a 1-1 drew with Manchester United last month.
Mbuyamba making waves
Earning a call-up to the seniors is certainly a significant moment for the centre-back, as it shows he is now on Thomas Tuchel’s radar.
Granted, his opportunity has probably arisen due to the number of players currently away on international duty.
Yet, this should not detract from this mighty moment for Mbuyamba, who deserves a clean run after hitting so many hurdles along the way.
Tuchel is making quite a habit of promoting youngsters from the academy to rub shoulder with his celebrity stars.
He recently included Harvey Vale in training, another Cobham talent who Chelsea value highly.
Levi Colwill, Tino Livramento, Lewis Bate and Tino Anjorin had also previously been called up by the head coach before they all departed in the summer.
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