There are a number of elite talents ready to break into the top clubs in the Premier League, however Rio Ferdinand believes Chelsea youngster Jesse Derry is up there with the best.
The Blues signed the teenager from Crystal Palace, and he made his debut for the first team during their FA Cup win over Hull earlier this month.
Jack Grealish was full of praise for Derry, and he has earned his opportunity under Liam Rosenior with impressive outings for the U21s.
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Rio Ferdinand says Jesse Derry is one of four ‘ridiculous’ Premier League talents
Top talents throughout the Premier League are starting to make their mark for first team squads. Rio Ngumoha has featured sporadically for Liverpool since his move from Chelsea, while Max Dowman has made his debut for Arsenal.
Ferdinand has ranked Derry right up there with those two, as well as promising Manchester United talent JJ Gabriel, as the four big names coming through in England.
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He said to Rio Ferdinand Presents: “You know the four, right now, if I was going to put money on and going these four, and you know what, it probably won’t even be these four that go and dominate the Premier League and do crazy things.
“If you were going to put your money on four kids right now, in the Premier League to do their thing, based on what you’re seeing now, you’ve got Rio at Liverpool, you’ve got Max Dowman, you’ve got JJ Gabriel at Man United, and Jesse Derry at Chelsea.
“Jesse Derry, I know his dad, Shaun, he’s an ex-player, but I know the kid, wow, ridiculous, not only a talent, but an actual, like, as a kid who loves, loves the game.
“You know, certain kids, they just love football and live and breathe. All the time, he makes that and the balls that you see, like, still, one of those kids.”
Derry’s dad, Shaun, stated that he joined Chelsea because of Enzo Maresca, however it is Rosenior who has his future in his hands right now.
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Chelsea paid absolute bargain price for Derry
Given how high Derry’s potential is, there is a possibility even if things don’t work out, Chelsea could make a healthy profit on the 18-year-old in the future.
This is because Chelsea paid just £1m for Derry to Crystal Palace, a fee which is cheap for anything in the modern game, let alone a promising young talent.
The fee is comfortably less than the Blues received via a tribunal for Ngumoha, even though he is younger than the current Chelsea man.
With Jamie Gittens‘ injury, it can be expected that the Englishman will be handed more opportunities to feature in matchday squads for the first team.
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