Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images
Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images
Wigan Athletic manager Gary Caldwell has not hidden his excitement about Chelsea youngster Reggie Walsh.
Walsh has joined Wigan on a season-long loan and started for the Latics against Leyton Orient on Saturday.
Wigan lost 2-0 to the east London club, but Caldwell was still pleased with Walsh’s individual performance.
Gary Caldwell delighted with threat Reggie Walsh has brought to Wigan
Walsh was making his debut for Wigan and was so bright that Caldwell refused to take him off.
The Wigan boss felt that Walsh was one of his side’s biggest threats and was delighted with him as a result.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Caldwell told Wigan Today: “For a 17-year-old kid to play with that understanding, quality, physicality…we thought about taking him off, but he kept doing things that were impressive.
“He was one of our biggest threats in the game, so I had to leave him out there for the 90 minutes…I’m delighted with him.”
Gary Caldwell, manager of Wigan Athletic
Photo by Kevin Hodgson/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Caldwell was not the only one impressed with the attacker’s display. Walsh also left a good impression on Wigan fans, who even compared him to Reece James.
James also had a loan spell at the Brick Community Stadium back in the 2018/19 season, which played a key part in his development as a footballer.
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Reggie Walsh has future in Chelsea first team
Chelsea’s academy coaches will not be too surprised by the impact that Walsh is already making at Wigan.
He is a talented youngster who has a shot at making it at Chelsea one day. Despite being just 17 years of age, Walsh has already made four appearances for the senior side.
If Walsh was deemed capable enough to play for the first team now, what is stopping him from making more appearances in the future? Chelsea do tend to spend big on attackers quite regularly, so that could potentially be a barrier.
This summer, they paid £117m to bring in Morgan Rogers from Premier League rivals Aston Villa.
With a successful loan or two, though, perhaps Walsh could develop into an attacker who is good enough to at least be a squad player at Stamford Bridge. This loan at Wigan, then, could be a very important step in his development.