Photo by Chelsea Football Club/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Chelsea Football Club/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Chelsea are continuing their process of developing young players by sending goalkeeper Hudson Sands on loan, after tying him down to a new contract.
Xabi Alonso has three shot stoppers on the pre-season tour with him in Australia, with two of those spaces being taken by youngsters behind Robert Sanchez.
Teddy Sharman-Lowe started the first friendly against Western Sydney Wanderers, while Ted Curd is also gaining valuable experience amongst the first team stars on the tour.
Hudson Sands signs new deal before leaving Chelsea on loan
This saw the promising Sands left at home, however this has clearly been done with an eye towards his immediate future.
The official Chelsea website has confirmed that he has signed a new deal taking him to 2009, before completing a loan move to Dulwich Hamlet.
Everton U21 v Chelsea U21: Premier League 2
Photo by Chelsea Football Club/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Dulwich Hamlet currently play in the seventh tier of English football, but getting regular minutes under his belt is going to be the perfect next step for the youngster.
He follows in the path of Curd, Sharman-Lowe and Gabriel Slonina in getting loan moves to the lower levels of English football in an attempt to get them regular first team football.
Who is Hudson Sands?
The 18-year-old goalkeeper joined the Chelsea academy two years ago, and last year played a crucial role in the U18 side who won the English Youth League last year.
He conceded just 23 goals in 22 games for the U18s, keeping seven clean sheets along the way.
He has featured at multiple age levels for the England youth sides too, last featuring for the Under 16s back in 2023.
The future of the goalkeeping position at Stamford Bridge is never that clear, and this is the first step for Sands in his quest to eventually nail down the role.