Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah has revealed that he almost signed for Fulham earlier in his career only for a scout at Stamford Bridge convinced him otherwise.
The youngster has progressed through the youth system at Cobham and after spells with Ipswich Town, Huddersfield Town and Lorient, has gone on to establish himself within the first-team under Thomas Tuchel.
He has made eight appearances so far this season and scored two goals, against Crystal Palace and Southampton.
The 23-year-old’s rise to prominence is surprising considering he was expected to once again depart on loan, but it is even more stark considering that he could potentially have been playing his football for Chelsea ’s west London rivals Fulham alongside brother Nathaniel.
Talking in an interview with the Blues’ official website, Chalobah said: “Actually, when I was younger, I never liked football, you know.
“I would say my older brother Nathaniel, it was him, he used to play football in the park and I used to kick about with him and he got scouted for Fulham.
“They scouted him and he went there and I think it was since then and I was like ‘yeah, this is maybe something I want to do, let me just try it’.
“So I started at school, then Fulham came in for me.”
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Luckily, Chalobah has revealed that a Chelsea scout - who has remained nameless - eventually managed to convince him to reject a move to Craven Cottage and instead become part of the youth set-up with the Blues.
He continued: “At that time, Chelsea brought my brother obviously to Chelsea. Then the scout there said ‘instead of going Fulham, just go Chelsea’. That’s where it all started.”
Chalobah will be hoping to continue making his mark under Thomas Tuchel as he hopes to earn his first Champions League start against Malmo on Wednesday evening.
