Omari Kellyman played his first minutes for the under-21s on Friday and is hopeful of making his Chelsea debut before the end of the season according to Ben Jacobs.
Kellyman joined Chelsea for £19m last summer from Aston Villa, but suffered a serious hamstring injury which has ruled him out since September.
The 19-year-old was set to go on loan to the Championship in January, but Chelsea decided it was best for Kellyman to remain at the club and focus on his rehabilitation.
Kellyman hopeful of making Chelsea debut before end of the season
Kellyman is an attacking midfielder, and could provide Maresca with an alternative to Cole Palmer, with the 22-year-old currently out of form.
Despite joining last summer Kellyman has only just played his first minutes for the under-21s as he came off the bench on Friday night in their 2-1 win against Ipswich.
Omari Kellyman features in the warmup for Chelsea.
Kellyman is hopeful of making his Chelsea debut before the end of the season.
Jacobs has now provided an update on Kellyman and stated the youngster could join up with the first team before the end of the season.
He took to X.com and said:
“Omari Kellyman on for his first Chelsea minutes in the Under-21s 2-1 win over Ipswich.
“Kellyman hopeful of first-team opportunities before the season is out. Likely to stay with Under-21s in March and then join up with first-team at some point between now and the end of season, potentially as early as April.”
Chelsea will likely have the majority of their first team stars back by April, and quite where Kellyman fits in with the current squad remains to be seen.
More Stories / Latest News
A generic view of Stamford Bridge in a summer friendly.
Antoine Semenyo in action for Bournemouth. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Chelsea generic squad celebrate with their fans (Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images)
Having spent £19m you would expect at the bare minimum he would be training with the first team, but it certainly feels like there isn’t much of a long term future for Kellyman at Stamford Bridge.
The most likely scenario is he goes on loan next season to play regular football and then a decision is taken on his future in the summer of 2026.