Alfie Gilchrist has been training with the first team through a large part of this season, and was rewarded twice in recent games with appearances off the bench.
Coming on as a sub to help his team hold on to narrow leads against Crystal Palace and Luton Town, the young defender is already earning cult status for the way he threw himself around in those brief cameos.
With his physical style and shaved head he has the air of a young John Terry, and when he spoke to the Chelsea website about his pride in making his senior debut for the club there were certainly echoes of JT in his words:
“Sometimes I wouldn’t be sent out to warm up much in the second half, but I felt I was out warming up a bit more than normal, so I was thinking this could be it,” explained Alfie when asked whether he could sense his debut was coming.
“I was standing there watching as we scored the penalty and waiting for the moment. My mouth had gone dry so I kept drinking water. I was just trying to prepare myself.
‘The moment I came on was amazing. My first touch was a good tackle and my second was just a smash. That’s what you’ve got to do, make sure the first thing you do is positive, and from there, you hope, it will take care of itself.
“As soon as I put the big challenge in I just heard the whole crowd erupt so I just got up and went again to try and get it, make another tackle or block.”
We’re sure he will get more appearances before the end of this season, and with three cup games coming up, he may even get a first team start before the season is out. The future is very bright for Alfie.
