Chelsea starlet Reggie Walsh has signed his first professional contract with the club after turning 17 years old.
Walsh joined the club as an Under-8 and has progressed quickly through the academy ranks, signing scholarship terms this summer.
He is already a regular starter in Chelsea’s U21 side and is establishing himself in Enzo Maresca’s first-team.
He made his senior debut last season in a Conference League semi-final meeting with Djurgardens, and played his first Champions League minutes in a 5-1 win over Ajax this week.
In doing so, he became Chelsea’s youngest-ever Champions League player, and the second-youngest Englishman to play in the competition after Jack Wilshere.
Maresca has made no secret of his fondness for Walsh, saying in September that he is a cut above other Cobham graduates.
“I like all the academy guys but Reggie is the one I like more than the rest,” he said.
“I like Reggie because he is doing things that I’m demanding to the other players, but he is doing those things without me asking him to do that.
“I don’t need to ask him to do something. What he’s doing is already what I want from that player.”
Walsh is a deep-lying playmaker with creative vision beyond his years.
He has also been called up to England’s squad for next month’s U17 World Cup alongside Chelsea team-mates Chizaram Ezenwata and Landon Emenalo, as well as Tottenham prospect Luca Williams-Barnett.
