Chelsea have confirmed the exits of three goalkeepers from the youth and reserves teams, with Lucas Bergström, Eddie Beach, and Luke Campbell all leaving the club when their contracts expire at the end of the month. They are joining third-choice goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli in departing, with the veteran backup apparently set to join Manchester City.
We don’t know where the three young’ns might end up, though they will undoubtedly catch on somewhere. Chelsea Academy on the CV is never a bad thing.
Of the three, Campell had been with us the longest, joining at an early age (U9 level) and working his way up the ranks. The 19-year-old spent the first half of the season on loan at non-league Hendon FC, featuring regularly for the Isthmian League side in his first senior professional experience.
Eddie Beach came up as a non-goalkeeper in his local Sunday leagues before catching the eye of Southampton scouts and joining their setup as a goalkeeper in 2019. Three years later, on the back of an excellent U21 Premier League season, Beach was poached by the Blues in 2022. He would then join the usual non-league loan path we prefer for our youth ‘keepers, but he’s not found consistent success. He was with League One Crawley Town in the first half of this season, but made just one appearance.
Most well known of the three is Lucas Bergsröm, who has been on the fringes of the first-team for the past few years, sometimes serving as a third goalkeeper (including for our UEFA Conference League campaign this season). The 22-year-old joined the Academy in 2018 from his native Finland and had himself a good loan at Peterborough United last season (in the third division).
Best of luck in whatever may come next, lads!
“Dear Chelsea Football Club,
After ten incredible years, it is time for us to part ways. Thank you everyone for the love, memories, and support over the years, it won’t be forgotten.”
-Luke Campbell; source: Instagram