As pubs stayed open late to mark VE Day, Chelsea supporters streamed out of Stamford Bridge, celebrating their straightforward passage to the Conference League final. However, young Reggie Walsh, unfortunately, wasn`t old enough to join in the toast.
At just 16 years and 200 days old, the midfielder wouldn’t have been served a drink without presenting fake identification. Yet, the Year 11 schoolboy was undoubtedly elated simply by becoming Chelsea’s youngest starter in nearly six decades the previous night. He required no alcoholic boost to feel light-headed from the occasion.
Walsh’s inclusion in the starting lineup for a European semi-final was a surprise, particularly as he only debuted for the club’s Under 18s this season. It`s also currently exam season, a time when most teenagers his age are occupied with revision or facing tests in a quiet hall for their GCSEs.
Chelsea’s latest academy talent was more focused on avoiding a misplaced pass or navigating the challenges of his significant first-team opportunity. Thankfully, his more experienced teammates managed the task effectively, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall powerfully striking home a shot seven minutes before halftime, deepening the struggles for the unimpressive Swedish side.
Chelsea are now set for a trip to Wroclaw, Poland, a picturesque location, where they will aim to make history. They could become the first club to have won all of the current major European trophies: the Champions League, Europa League, Super Cup, and Conference League.
While Walsh is unlikely to participate in the final on May 28, he is regarded as an intelligent and composed player on the ball, having already represented England at U-16 and U-17 levels. Chelsea deserves credit for offering opportunities regardless of physical stature, a philosophy also benefiting players like Billy Gilmour.
Walsh’s appearance as a substitute in the first leg in Sweden last week made him the youngest player to appear for the senior team since Ian ‘Chico’ Hamilton in 1967. With the tie effectively decided after boss Enzo Maresca’s team secured a comfortable 4-1 lead in the first match, and the opposition (if they can be called that) proving truly subpar, this return leg was an opportunity to relax and push Chelsea’s renowned youth policy to an even younger level.
Maresca has fielded the youngest squad in the Premier League this season, with an average age of just 23 and a half. This seems quite old compared to the rookie Walsh, who would have only recently received his National Insurance card last October.
The evening felt somewhat strange – just one game away from a final in a competition Chelsea had never previously won, yet the substitutes` bench appeared considerably stronger than the starting eleven. In addition to the remarkably young Walsh, 19-year-old Josh Acheampong was also called into a significantly reshuffled lineup.
It`s not that Maresca shows disrespect for the tournament; rather, the level of competition Chelsea has faced in this third-tier competition has been modest, perhaps League One standard at best. Despite the passionate noise from the Swedish travelling support that filled parts of Stamford Bridge, their team was arguably one of the weakest to reach the semi-finals.
The squad rotation was notable, with Marc Cucurella being the only player to start last night’s game who had also started against the new Premier League champions Liverpool at the weekend. Such contrasts in intensity can occur rapidly in football.
Maresca was clearly focused on more critical objectives. The priority is securing Champions League qualification for next season, allowing the club to move past less prestigious European competitions like this. The upcoming Sunday match away to fourth-placed Newcastle, with both teams level on points, presents a far more challenging fixture than the routine semi-final progression, despite securing a place in the final.
Chelsea’s key players, including Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez, new Player of the Year Moises Caicedo, and Nicolas Jackson, were kept in reserve on the bench, ready to be introduced if necessary. At halftime, 17-year-old forward Shumaira Mheuka was brought on; he had briefly held the record for Chelsea’s youngest starter after playing in Copenhagen in the round of 16. However, he held the record for barely two months before Walsh surpassed him. In every sense, Chelsea truly are the `boys in blue`.
