Chelsea youngster Reggie Walsh is nearing a loan move to Wigan after impressing during pre-season.
Chelsea FC
Chelsea FC
Wigan Athletic are closing in on a season-long loan deal for Chelsea midfielder Reggie Walsh, with news of a transfer edging closer. The 17-year-old will sign a better contract before his first loan move. A final deal is expected once Walsh passes his medical.
Why Reggie Walsh wants first-team football
As reported by BBC, Walsh only recently landed back in England after joining Chelsea’s pre-season trip across Australia and Asia under Xabi Alonso. He is now set to head to the North West to finish his move to League One. The teenager already made history at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea’s youngest ever player in the Champions League, coming off the bench against Ajax last October. He has also made three more first-team appearances since, all under old boss Enzo Maresca. Wigan are currently ahead of several Championship clubs also chasing him.
Despite his Champions League breakthrough, first-team minutes at the Blues are hard to find for a young midfielder up against senior stars for a place. A loan to a tough League One club gives him a real test each week. Playing against grown men should sharpen his choices on the ball. It should also speed up his read of the game. League One football tends to be direct and physical. That style should suit a player hoping to toughen up before he pushes for a Premier League squad spot. Mistakes carry real weight once games start to count in a first-team dressing room.
Reggie Walsh’s stats in the 2025-26 season at Chelsea, as per FOTMOB:
Competitions Matches Goals Assists Successful passes %
Premier League 2 17 3 6 89.6%
Chelsea’s wider academy plan
Academy players are being sent out on loan this summer while new young talent joins the club. Chelsea recently signed Harrison Bettoni from Wigan. He plays a role much like Reggie Walsh and joined mainly to bulk up the academy squad. At the same time, winger Ryan Kavuma-McQueen is closing in on his own loan move to Championship side Portsmouth, after also touring with the first team this summer.
Kavuma-McQueen scored 13 goals in 26 games for Chelsea’s youth teams last season. That record means Portsmouth are getting a proven scorer, not just a raw kid. Walsh, Mheuka, and Kavuma-McQueen are all moving toward loans in the same window.
Chelsea FC
Chelsea FC
Mheuka’s new deal and what comes next
As reported by Football.london, striker Shim Mheuka is also set to sign a new deal this week. Mheuka was named Premier League 2 Player of the Season last term. He scored 18 goals in just 19 games for the Under-21 side. That strike rate puts him ahead of most forwards his age in the academy system. It explains why Chelsea want to tie him down before he heads out on loan himself. The club would rather secure his signature now than risk losing him on a free elsewhere.
Like Walsh, Mheuka is set to leave for regular first-team football once his new deal is signed. He is likely to join a Championship or League One side, where he will face senior defenders every week. Chelsea’s approach with both players shows a club willing to test its sharpest young talent away from Cobham before deciding who fits Xabi Alonso’s senior plans. Should Mheuka carry his Under-21 form into a men’s league this season, he could return next summer as a genuine option for the first team, rather than just a name on the fringes.
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