Chelsea rate young shot-stopper Gabriel Slonina very highly but he is unlikely to play for the first team anytime soon, according to The Telegraph’s Matt Law.
Slonina joined Chelsea last August in a deal that saw him stay at Chicago Fire for the rest of their 2022 season.
He went to London after the conclusion of the MLS regular season in October but had to wait until January to make his first appearance for Chelsea’s development squad.
He has since made four appearances in the Premier League 2 in which he kept three clean sheets and conceded just one goal.
Amid Chelsea’s rumoured plan to revamp their first-team goalkeeping department, with Marcus Bettinelli and Edouard Mendy possibly leaving, Law still does not think Sloinina is a candidate for promotion yet.
“They definitely rate him that high,” Law told London is Blue Podcast when speaking about whether Chelsea see Slonina as a potential first-team goalkeeper.
“[But] it’s very tough to think about throwing him even at the start of next season or anything like that.
“It’s too early for that.
“He’s clearly someone they want around the first-team squad.
“When teams do that, it’s pretty clear that there are a progression and future planning going on.
“But it would be absolutely remarkable to see him given an actual first-team chance yet.
“It’d be unprecedented for a goalkeeper who’s come from overseas at that age [to play in the first team] and it’s a huge risk.”
Slonina, who will turn 19 in May, understandably still lacks experience at the senior level.
He made his senior debut for the United States national team in January and became the youngest goalkeeper to do so for the country, but he has also missed out on their latest squad, too.
A loan move would perhaps be the ideal step for him next season, and any Chelsea goalkeeping decision should be made regardless of the teenager’s potential.
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