Jake Clarke-Salter has already had to contend with mounds of pressure in his fledgling career.
The 22-year-old has been glowingly endorsed by Chelsea legend John Terry, who identified the academy graduate as his long-term successor at Stamford Bridge shortly before his retirement.
“Jake has a great attitude,” said Terry, who made 717 appearances for the Blues. “I remember watching him a couple of years ago being in control of the game and a really vocal player. He reminds me a bit of myself.
“He is doing great and I hope he goes on to take my position and get in the first team."
Terry’s words came after Clarke-Salter made his debut in a 4-0 victory at Aston Villa in 2016. But that’s been his only Premier League appearance for Chelsea so far.
Clarke-Salter has taken the tried and trusted loan route out of Stamford Bridge in a bid to enhance his reputation. His first stint with Bristol Rovers put him on the map - but his second with crisis club Sunderland knocked him off track.
Stadium of fright
Clarke-Salter, just 20 at the time, joined Sunderland midway through the 2017/18 season and suffered badly. His second start resulted in a victory for the Black Cats, and an even rarer clean sheet, but Clarke-Salter’s joy quickly turned to despair.
Sunderland didn’t win any of Clarke-Salter’s final nine games and his frustration showed with two red cards.
"It was tough, I was 20 and obviously I had to deal with the responsibility because they were my mistakes," Clarke-Salter told The Guardian.
"The first sending off was a derby game and I made a badly timed tackle. The second one was just a bit of inexperience on my side. I’d just come back into the team, so I was gutted. But I’ve learned from it."
A route to redemption
One bad spell in difficult circumstances was never going to define Clarke-Salter’s career and Chelsea offered him a confidence-boosting loan at Vitesse for 2018/19.
Clarke-Salter scored on his debut in a 5-1 victory over Groningen and made a positive impression as Vitesse finished fifth in the Eredivisie.
His performances in Holland and the leadership skills Terry alludes to led to England under-21 boss Aidy Boothroyd handing Clarke-Salter the captaincy for last summer’s European Championships.
England were ultimately unsuccessful out in Italy but Clarke-Salter was able to put himself in the shop window.
Back in Blue
Birmingham City stepped forward and Chelsea agreed to loan Clarke-Salter to St Andrew’s for this season.
He had to bide his time to force his way into Pep Clotet’s starting XI but Clarke-Salter has well and truly exorcised the demons of his first Championship stint.
Birmingham haven’t lost any of the last 12 Championship matches Clarke-Salter has played in and their form was temporarily derailed while he was sidelined with a shoulder injury in December.
“The last we saw of Clarke-Salter playing in this country prior to his move to Blues was an unsuccessful loan spell at Sunderland - so fans were unsure of what to expect,” explains Birmingham Live football reporter Shane Ireland.
“But he has become a valuable asset and played a crucial role in the recent 13-game unbeaten run, whether that was partnering Marc Roberts or captain Harlee Dean in the middle of defence.
“He exudes a certain confidence in possession and does the 'dirty' side of things well too in what is a highly competitive and aggressive division.
“There's little doubt he would be welcomed back to St Andrew's under any set of circumstances next season.”
What next for Clarke-Salter?
Frank Lampard has given Clarke-Salter plenty of encouragement this season by blooding several of his former team-mates at youth level.
Fikayo Tomori, Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham have been shining lights of Lampard’s trust in youth, which offers Clarke-Salter hope that he will finally add to his two senior outings for his boyhood club.
Tomori more than most, perhaps. His two Championship spells prior to his success at Derby County, with Brighton and Hull City, weren’t perfect.
Clarke-Salter will hope his star turns for Birmingham will have the same effect on Lampard and Stamford Bridge’s other decision makers.
“I’d be silly to say I wouldn’t want to be in the position where I could play for Chelsea. Anyone would,” he told The Independent. “It’s very hard to have patience at times, but you have to understand that there are world-class players at Chelsea. You learn to appreciate that.”
