Chelsea hold fresh talks over new contract with academy youngster Harvey Vale
According to The Athletic (Subscription Required), Chelsea have held fresh talks with Cobham star Harvey Vale about signing a new contract with the club. The Blues are intent on tying the player down to a long-term deal to keep him at Stamford Bridge for the near future.
Vale is yet another one of the Chelsea academy’s success stories, with the teenager already making three appearances for the first team this season. Although he has not made his Premier League debut as of yet, he has taken to the field for the club’s Carabao Cup and FA Cup fixtures.
The 18-year-old’s representatives have met with club officials to discuss a potential new deal for the player, although nothing concrete was agreed. However, positive negotiations are said to have taken place, with both parties being optimistic about a final decision soon.
Apart from Vale, manager Thomas Tuchel has also handed a first-team debut to fellow academy player Lewis Hall, who made his senior bow in the FA Cup fixture against Chesterfield earlier in the season. Vale made an appearance in the same fixture as well, coming on as a substitute in the second half.
Future looks bright
Despite Tuchel’s intentions of keeping Vale around for the second half of the campaign, the club wants him to sign a new contract soon so they can send him out on loan – either to a Championship club or a side in Europe next season. The player is unlikely to establish himself in the first team during the remainder of the season, with many senior stars ahead of him, occupying the forward positions.
Chelsea wants him to experience regular first-team football in the coming months, as they view him as a future asset for the club. The club have already shown their intent by rejecting a bid from Huddersfield for a loan deal lasting till the summer.
Another reason why the Blues are intent on making sure the striker signs a long-term contract is because of the recent trend seen amongst Cobham graduates over the past few years where they leave in search of regular first-team football. Our squad is packed with world-class talent, and it has led to some academy youngsters being frustrated with the situation, as they are limited to just domestic cup competition appearances and late cameos.
We have seen talented youngsters like Tariq Lamptey, Tino Livramento, and Lewis Bate all push to leave in recent times in search of regular game time. These players have all refused contract extensions and instead opted to run their contracts down to leave Chelsea as free agents.
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The same situation should be avoided with Vale, whose contract runs out in 2023, as we could definitely use some home-grown talent in the attacking positions. We have spent astronomical amounts of cash on forwards in recent years, but none of them seems to have lived up to their price tag as of yet.
Maybe it’s time to give our youth strikers a chance, and see whether they can lead the line for us in place of our expensive foreign imports. We have already seen Armando Broja tearing it up in the Premier League while on loan with Southampton, and it may be worth a try to give Vale his shot at glory and see whether he is up to the task.