Reece James was left amazed by the performance of Chelsea youngster Omari Hutchinson against Aston Villa yesterday.
The young Blues side were beaten 1-0 by an experienced Aston Villa team that was not too dissimilar to their Premier League side.
Despite the result, there were more than enough positives for Graham Potter to take from the game, with Hutchinson’s performance being the standout.
Starting on the right wing, the 19-year-old looked threatening throughout the affair, coming closest to scoring as he saw an effort canon back off the post.
Supporters have been waiting a while to watch the youngster play for the first team. They were certainly not disappointed yesterday.
His performance also seemingly caught the eye of a number of his teammates. James led the way in taking to Instagram to praise his display.
James praises Hutchinson
Despite the positives brought by Hutchinson and a number of the academy products on show yesterday, Potter now has a brand new serious injury to deal with.
Armando Broja was forced off on a stretcher after suffering what seems a serious knee injury.
If it ends up being serious, this will surely see the Blues enter the market in January to at least find a short-term option.
With plenty of first team players potentially not available for the return of the Premier League on December 27, Hutchinson may be pushing to make his competitive debut for the club.
The Englishman was on the bench a handful of times in the Premier League and EFL Cup, however is yet to get on the pitch in Blue.
The likes of Hakim Ziyech are on deep runs in the World Cup, and will almost certainly not be available for the first couple of fixtures against Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest.
Raheem Sterling and Mason Mount may be available for the Blues however, after England were knocked out of the World Cup by France at the weekend.
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