Chelsea teenager has been ‘holding his own’ during first-team training, he could start vs Aston Villa

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Chelsea visit Aston Villa on Saturday evening for an important match, and one player could reportedly be handed his first-ever Premier League start.

Chelsea travel to Villa Park on the weekend in desperate need of three points because they’ve dropped down to sixth in the Premier League table.

Opta predicts Chelsea will finish fifth in this season’s Premier League, which should be enough for Champions League qualification. However, they’ve got to improve after winning only two of their previous nine top-flight matches.

Even though the Blues squad is full of many youngsters, head coach Enzo Maresca still hasn’t been shy of promoting talents from the Chelsea academy to the first team. Let’s see if any of the rising stars can help dig the side out of this poor form.

• READ MORE: Chelsea youngster deserves chance to solve Enzo Maresca’s striker problem after another goal for U21s

Tyrigue George may start vs Aston Villa after impressing in training

According to The Daily Mail, Chelsea teenager Tyrique George could be handed his first start in the Premier League during the upcoming trip to Villa.

Blues attacker Noni Madueke may be injured for a while after picking up a hamstring problem in his last appearance, which could open the door for George on the right wing. Apparently, Maresca is considering whether to put the 19-year-old into the starting line-up.

The report adds that George has impressed by ‘holding his own’ in first-team training since he started working with them every day.

It was back in December that George was fully promoted to the senior squad, along with fellow Chelsea academy graduate Josh Acheampong. So far, he’s made 12 first-team appearances across all competitions this season.

Why Tyrique George deserves to start

During Chelsea’s 3-0 league defeat to Brighton last time out, George was the only positive with an eye-catching cameo performance off the bench after replacing injured teammate Madueke.

On paper, Jadon Sancho and Pedro Neto would seem like the most likely players to start on the respective wings against Villa. However, it may time for some fresh blood because both have flattered to deceive this season.

We’d love to see George starting on the left wing at Villa Park, which would leave Neto to start over on the opposite side on the right.

If George is making a positive impression behind the scenes in training, he deserves more opportunities to play, especially when others are underperforming.

Romeo Lavia is confident in George’s qualities as he’s a Chelsea academy graduate he massively rates, but fans are still waiting for him to really explode into the first-team side despite more and more appearances recently.