Chelsea star Cole Palmer hit back at a journalist in a mixed zone after being asked a question about his 16-year-old teammate Reggie Walsh.
The Blues booked their spot in the UEFA Conference League final on Thursday after defeating Swedish club Djurgårdens IF 5-1 on aggregate.
Walsh made his senior debut for Chelsea in the first leg of the semi-final clash, becoming the third youngest ever player for the west Londoners.
The England U17 star then became Chelsea’s youngest ever starter in a European competition at 16 years and 200 days in the second meeting.
Palmer, who turned 23 this week, was approached by a reporter after the second leg, who said he was practically an ‘old man’ compared to Walsh.
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The Chelsea superstar hit back at the journalist by jokingly saying: ‘F***ing hell, what are you then compared to Reggie?’
Palmer then added: ‘[Walsh is] a very good player. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do.
‘I’m still young myself so I have to keep growing and growing.’
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca was full of praise for Walsh after his performance against Djurgårdens IF on Thursday.
‘How good is he? You can see that he is a good player,’ Maresca said about the teenage midfielder.
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‘He is that kind of player that we like, very good. For sure he is young and he has many things to do and to grow.
‘Very happy for him, very happy for his family and he has to enjoy this moment.’
Chelsea captain Reece James and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who scored the only goal of the second leg against Djurgårdens IF, also had kind words to say about Walsh after the match.
‘I’ve seen him in training but training and games is different but this is the first time I have seen him play,’ James said. ‘I didn’t realise how good he actually was.’
Dewsbury-Hall, 26, added: ‘I’m just here to try and guide the young players. Reggie is 16 and he was fantastic, composed.
‘My job is just to tell them to play the game that got them there. You saw that with the players that played, very composed, very calm. That’s a credit to the academy.’
Walsh is so young that he was born five months after John Terry slipped and missed his penalty in the shootout during the 2008 Champions League final against Manchester United.
He looks set for a huge future having been at Chelsea since the age of seven.