Sheffield United are interested in signing Chelsea prospect Alfie Gilchrist.
That is according to a report from The Evening Standard.
They claim that Sheffield United, who are a newly-promoted side to the Premier League, are keen on a deal to sign Alfie Gilchrist on a permanent basis.
It is understood that Chelsea have offered their 19-year-old defender a contract extension at Stamford Bridge.
The report says the Blues would prefer the youngster to pen a new deal before leaving on loan during the upcoming season.
Gilchrist is still waiting to make his official first-team debut, but he’s currently travelling the United States as part of the Blues pre-season tour.
The teenage centre-back is mixing it with the Chelsea seniors and did play in a friendly match last week against Wrexham.
He’s a very highly-rated youngster from the Blues academy, who joined them back as an Under-11.
The ball-playing defender captained Chelsea’s Under-21s last season and is ready to step into first-team football. Will Chelsea still own him beyond the summer, though?
Let’s hope Gilchrist agrees terms for a new deal and finds a suitable loan in the upcoming 2023/24 campaign.
There’s currently a number of quality centre-halves around Chelsea’s first team blocking the path for the existing academy talents to force their way into contention.
It will be a great opportunity to try impress Mauricio Pochettino during this summer’s pre-season and pick the brain of senior players such as Thiago Silva.
We’ve seen that often the best development is done out on loan away from Stamford Bridge for a year, though.
Aged 19, now could be the perfect time for Gilchrist to get his first crack at senior football.