Reggie Walsh made history in Chelsea’s Conference League semi-final first leg win over Djurgarden by becoming the youngest player to turn out for the club in almost six decades.
At just 16 years of age, Walsh came on for the final few minutes on Thursday night - replacing fellow academy starlet Tyrique George - with the Blues 4-1 up in Sweden and cruising towards another European final.
This was the third time the youngster had been involved with the senior team this season having been included in the matchday squads for home ties against Copenhagen and Legia Warsaw in the last-16 and quarter-final rounds respectively.
And despite a brief cameo against the Swedish outfit, there was enough time for Walsh to register a shot on target with his very first touch of the ball.
Benefitting from a key feature of Chelsea’s Conference League campaign this season where head coach Enzo Maresca has handed out eight debuts to players from the academy, the teenager is being tipped for a very bright future.
Speaking after the win over Djurgarden, visibly excited over the teenage prospect, Maresca said: "He's very young, but in the way we want to play, in our way, in our style, he's perfect.
"But he's still very young, he needs to learn, he needs to work hard and he needs to grow for sure.
"But we are happy, they just said to me that we gave eight debuts this season from the academy. I think it's good."
Walsh has been at Chelsea since the age of seven and has progressed through the age groups at Cobham. This season he has made 15 appearances in the U18’s Premier League, scoring four goals and weighing in with two assists.
Furthermore, he has netted twice in the Blues’ FA Youth Cup run and has been given a taste of Premier League 2 action since the turn of the year with a couple of substitute appearances against Manchester United and Crystal Palace.
With six yellow cards to his name this season, Walsh is already a player that doesn’t shy away from a tackle. Though he is described more as a technically gifted midfielder who can operate as a six, eight or as a number 10.
Meanwhile, on the international stage, Walsh has represented England from the U15’s through to the U17’s.
Born in 2008 which means Walsh is still of schoolboy age. His primary focus at present is his GCSEs but Chelsea will be looking to the future and tying the prosoect down to a professional contract which cannot be signed until his 17th birthday in October.
