Chelsea youngster Alfie Gilchrist made a huge step this week in his footballing career.
Alfie Gilchrist, who’s come through the Blues academy, was rewarded with a first-team debut a couple of days ago.
The 20-year-old defender came on for the final stages of Chelsea’s 2-1 home win against Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
He captains the Blues Under-21s side and is a highly-rated centre-back, so let’s hope more senior opportunities lie just around the corner.
We’re optimistic with cup fixtures against Championship opposition Preston and Middlesbrough next month.
Gilchrist uploaded a message on Instagram to celebrate his senior debut this week.
He received a response in the comment section from Lewis Hall, the 19-year-old who’s currently on loan at Newcastle United from Chelsea. Hall applauded a player he knows well from time in the Blues academy.
Alfie Gilchrist debut
We’re hopeful that Gilchrist is the latest success story to come from the Chelsea academy.
We’ve seen plenty of Cobham talents exit Stamford Bridge to enjoy success elsewhere, but there’s still a core running through current squad. For example, Reece James, Conor Gallagher and Levi Colwill are academy graduates with key roles in the first team.
Football London previously reported that Gilchrist has done enough to impress Blues head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
It’s a massive step to make your senior debut. The next and tougher challenge is to make a full-time breakthrough into the main group.
Speaking via Chelsea’s official website in September, Gilchrist explained that he’s received advice from Thiago Silva in training. You couldn’t ask for a better defensive mentor on the training pitches.
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