Chelsea’s latest teenage recruitment drive bore its first fruit this week as January signing Yisa Alao made his long-awaited academy debut, appearing for the Under-18s just over a month after his move from Sheffield Wednesday.
Yisa Alao joined Chelsea for over £500k just over a month ago after impressing in some breakthrough appearances for Championship side Sheffield Wednesday.
His rapid rise from the Owls youth system to the Premier League was fueled by a breakout 2025/26 campaign at Hillsborough, where he clocked nearly 200 minutes of first-team football.
But Chelsea doesn’t plan on using Alao in the first team right now, instead letting him develop and come to terms with things in the youth system.
The early signs are bright for the youngster, who made his debut for the Under-18s today.
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Yisa Alao’s Chelsea Under-18s debut vs Fulham
Reporter Lloyd Canfield was on hand to watch the Under-18s and here’s what he had to say about the young full-backs’ display.
‘Yisa Alao’s Chelsea debut comes to an end after 55 minutes for the U18 side.
‘They’re 2-1 up vs Fulham thanks to goals from Mathis Eboue and Sol Gordon, with two assists from Chizzy Ezenwata.
‘*Good debut from Alao, who was signed from Sheffield Wednesday for over £500k in January this year.*‘
The Chelsea Youth account on X, who attends every game, also spoke about his performance.
‘Yisa Alao has been impressive on debut and should have a goal too, dragging a shot just wide.’
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