Xabi Alonso seems to rate Reggie Watson highly, having kept him with the Chelsea first team.
Previewing Chelsea's Premier League trip to the Emirates to face Arsenal.
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Chelsea academy star Reggie Watson was spotted in first-team training amid preparation for Sunday’s derby against Arsenal.
The Blues lost two first-team midfielders on Tuesday’s summer window deadline, with Enzo Fernandez joining Manchester City on a £125 million deal and Dario Essugo leaving for a season-long loan spell at RC Strasbourg.
However, despite the club’s efforts, they did not manage to bring in any replacements. Chelsea were close to landing AS Monaco’s Lamine Camara, but the proposed transfer fell through at the last minute.
This has arguably left Chelsea quite thin in midfield, but not to the point of crisis.
The central midfield options of Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, Jordan Henderson and Valentin Barco, as well as the versatile Reece James and Malo Gusto if needed, are by no means subpar.
The issues are injuries and the overall fitness records of this group.
Caicedo sustained a setback during Chelsea’s 4-3 win over Brighton last Sunday, while Jordan Henderson, who is still recovering from a fractured forearm at the World Cup, has yet to make his debut for the club. Lavia and James do not have reassuring injury histories, either.
It is therefore no surprise that manager Xabi Alonso has kept academy midfielder Watson with the first team.
Watson in Chelsea first-team plans
Watson was part of Chelsea’s pre-season squad that travelled to Australia and Asia for the tour. He featured in four of Chelsea’s seven pre-season friendlies, including a full 90-minute appearance against Western Sydney Wanderers.
The 16-year-old also made the bench in Chelsea’s Carabao Cup second-round win over Luton Town last week, although he did not get to play.
The versatile midfielder took part in the first-team training session on Thursday as they continued their preparation for the trip to north London at the weekend. Watson even shared it on an Instagram story.
Instagram / reggie.watsonn
Instagram / reggie.watsonn
It remains unclear whether he will even make the squad against Arsenal, but being in the first-team environment at his age will only benefit his development.
Speaking in Friday's press conference, Alonso confirmed that Watson and Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli are the two academy stars who may provide cover in midfield for the first team this season.
Another player whose involvement on Sunday remains uncertain is Emmanuel Emegha, despite also taking part in Thursday’s training.
Like Watson, Emegha made the bench against Luton Town, but is still waiting for his Chelsea debut opportunity.
Chelsea decided to keep him in the squad over Nicolas Jackson and Liam Delap, who joined Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest, respectively. Even so, he is clearly behind Joao Pedro and Danny Welbeck in the striker pecking order, so he is unlikely to get a lot of chances to play.