Chelsea are in talks to sell a highly-rated academy graduate who was tipped to break into the first-team by club legend John Terry.
Enzo Maresca’s side are currently celebrating their Club World Cup final victory over PSG, and now have just one month to rest and prepare for the new Premier League season.
In that time, the club will look to add to their already impressive squad but must also sell off a large number of unwanted players, as another ‘bomb-squad’ has assembled at Cobham.
Many of these outcasts spent last season out on loan including Raheem Sterling, Carney Chukwuemeka, Lesley Ugochukwu, Ben Chilwell and Axel Disasi.
Another to do so was Alfie Gilchrist, who made 32 appearances for Sheffield United, helping the Blades reach the Championship play-off final where they lost to Sunderland.
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Since his debut in December 2023, the defender has made 17 first-team appearances for Chelsea and was named Academy Player of the Season in 2024.
However, the 21-year-old’s contract is due to expire next summer and it remains to be seen whether his long-term future lies at Stamford Bridge or elsewhere.
Sky Sports report that Middlesbrough have enquired about signing Gilchrist, who can play at either centre-back or right-back, with several other Championship clubs interested.
Gilchrist will find minutes hard to come by at Chelsea due to their large number of centre-back options including Levi Colwill, Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana, Tosin Adarabioyo and summer signing Mamadou Sarr.
Opportunities at right-back would appear limited too because of Reece James and Malo Gusto, and while the captain could be converted into a midfielder this season, Maresca is keen to give teenage defender Josh Acheampong more minutes.
John Terry: ‘Alfie Gilchrist reminds me of myself’
If Gilchrist were to leave west London, it would come as great disappointment to Chelsea’s legendary captain and current academy coach Terry.
‘Literally from the first training session in which I saw him, he reminded me of myself,’ the former England defender said last year.
‘He was keen to learn, asking me questions about defending and constantly picking my brains over what I would do in different situations. And he’s 100 per cent in everything he does. Whether that’s the warm-up to get him going, he’s all-in.
‘If you’re at Chelsea, you’ve got great ability in the first place to be there. But it’s really important for younger players to have that mentality and Alfie had that in abundance even from an early age.
‘Hopefully, he comes back to Chelsea and breaks through into our team. Alfie and all of his family are Chelsea, too, so I know deep down he wants to come back and break through.
‘When you see the journeys of these young players, and you play a small part in helping them, it’s really rewarding for me, being Chelsea through and through. I love it.’
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