Chelsea's starting XI against Juventus in Hong Kong. Photo: Chelsea FC / Instagram.
Sydney-born midfielder Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli started in midfield for Chelsea in a friendly against Juventus overnight in another show of faith from manager Xabi Alonso.
Just 16 years old, Nicoll-Jazuli played 66 minutes in the centre of the park partnering by Moises Caicedo, and gave a good account of himself in a duel against Juve stars Manuel Locatelli and Douglas Luiz, despite his side going down 1-0.
The teenager completed 44 of his 46 passes, while also contributing two clearances and two ball recoveries.
“It’s incredible – I don’t even remember when I was 16 who I was playing against,” Alonso said of Nicoll-Jazuli, via Chelsea’s official website.
“’But he was playing against Locatelli, against Douglas Luiz, these experienced players. For sure it’s something that he will remember in the future.
“You can learn so much, as what it takes to be a top-level player is not just about having good technique. It’s about understanding the game, having composure with the ball, when to defend hard, many things that he still has to learn.
“This is what I like: to see players progress. So far, they have this desire to learn.”
Nicoll-Jazuli has emerged as one of the stories of Chelsea’s pre-season so far, featuring prominently against Western Sydney Wanderers and Tottenham as he returned to his birthplace of Sydney.
Speaking to the Premier League side’s official channels, he reflected on the experience of coming back to Australia.
He spoke of his pride, what it meant to have his family in the stands and what it meant to make his first appearances for the senior side in the place where he was born.
“Yeah, it’s been top. Coming back to my home country, it’s just a proud moment, obviously,” he said.
“Like, ironic that I’m making my unofficial debut for Chelsea (in Australia).
“From leaving there about two or three (years old), I feel like coming back here was just meant to be.
“So I’m really proud to have made it here.”
He added: “Yeah, it’s important… my family have done everything for me.
“So grateful for them. Being able to see me make the debut, they’re very proud and I’m also very grateful.”
On Australia, he added: “It’s nice, the place, hot, beaches. I was there when I was young but wasn’t there for long, growing up in London.”
Earning minutes with a Premier League side at age 16 is not normal.
Nicoll-Jazili has done so with the support of senior players at Chelsea, who have helped him through his transition from the academy ranks.
“Yeah there’s been a few. I feel like (Tosin Adarabioyo) obviously, people call him the uncle, I feel like he’s helped me a lot,” he said.
“For support, even from when I first started training with them at like 14, 15, he was there for me, like telling me… always giving me confidence in training, telling me when its not good enough.
“Also feel like Cole (Palmer), Wes (Fofana). I feel like they’ve helped me a lot as well, just giving me that confidence.
“Just being with them, hanging out with them, I feel like it just made me belong.”
Alonso’s arrival at Chelsea is also a major positive for the Aussie-born rising star.
A former midfielder himself, with an incredible CV having won the Champions League, the World Cup and the Euros, and played for the likes of Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, there is arguably no better mentor for Nicoll-Jazuli to be learning from.
“Yeah, it’s been crazy (learning under Xabi Alonso). What a player he was,” the teenager said.
“Little things, the details, he’s already taught me a lot in the short space of time working with him. The details of positioning, first touch, knowing what to do… I feel like if I work with him more and more, I just feel like I’ll get better and better.
“The level he got to is definitely the level I want to get to.
“Every day, being with him, just like when I have one to one conversations with him, it’s a breath of fresh air. It gives you that confidence to work hard and want to get to his level.”
Unsurprisingly given his incredible trajectory, Nicoll-Jazuli is already drawing comparisons to some of the game’s best players.
Asked who he models his game on, England star Jude Bellingham was the first name that came up
“I’ll say Jude Bellingham, I get that one a lot as well that I play like him, and I also watch him as well,” he said.
“(Jamal) Musiala, (Paul) Pogba, these players, I watch them a lot, I see what they do, like their movements, how they get on the ball.
“On the ball as well what they do, trying to replicate that as well.
“Those are players I’ve been watching from a young age and I hope to get to their level and do similar things they’ve done in the game.”
Jake Rosengarten has worked for and led the biggest brands in Australian football. Beginning at Fox Sports Football as a digital producer, he moved on to build Optus Sport’s articles section, before leading the growth of the A-Leagues’ social and editorial footprint. Jake has covered World Cups, male and female, the Premier League, UEFA competitions and the A-Leagues, and is passionate about growing the game he fell in love with in his teens thanks to the influence of mates growing up in Sydney.