Chelsea loanee who reminds John Terry of himself has just returned to Cobham, manager explains why
Chelsea have a lot of players out on loan right now, with the likes of Joao Felix and Ben Chilwell leaving the club temporarily during the January transfer window.
Joao Felix is not impressing at AC Milan, though, so could be set for a return to Stamford Bridge in the summer instead of a permanent transfer to Sergio Conceicao’s side.
Chelsea also allowed some of their players to leave on loan last summer, sanctioning temporary moves for Alfie Gilchrist, Andrey Santos, Kepa Arrizabalaga and more.
However, one of those loanees had to return to Cobham recently, and his manager for this season has explained why.
Alfie Gilchrist returns to Chelsea for rehabilitation
Chelsea loaned Gilchrist to Sheffield United in the 2024 summer transfer window and the defender’s spell there was going well.
In total, he has made 30 appearances in all competitions for Chris Wilder’s team. Gilchrist has been left out of United’s recent matchday squads because of the amount of loanees that they currently have on their books, while the 21-year-old is now injured. As a result, he has returned to Chelsea to rehabilitate.
“He’s doing his rehab at Chelsea,” Wilder confirmed via The Star. “So he’s maybe a couple of weeks away from joining back in and being available.
“He innocuously turned his ankle in training and they’re the injuries you can’t avoid because you want to train with intensity and tempo to set yourselves up for the weekend. As everyone knows, Alfie doesn’t hold back but he’ll be okay.
“It’ll be a couple of weeks, he’ll be touch and go for the Sheffield Wednesday game and there’s a break after that so he’ll be back for Coventry the week after.”
Gilchrist’s last performance for United came against Hull City in a 3-0 defeat, with the Englishman starting at right-back on the day.
During their injury crisis in central defence, Chelsea could have recalled Gilchrist, as he can also play as a centre-back. Instead, the Blues opted to bring back Trevoh Chalobah from Crystal Palace.
Alfie Gilchrist reminds John Terry of himself
Being a young English defender and a product of Chelsea’s academy, Gilchrist received arguably the highest praise not too long ago.
John Terry, one of Chelsea and England’s best ever centre-halves, said he could see similarities between him and the Blues youngster.
When Terry spoke about Gilchrist last year, he said: “Literally from the first training session in which I saw him, he reminded me of myself. He was keen to learn, asking me questions about defending and constantly picking my brains over what I would do in different situations.
“And he’s 100 per cent in everything he does. Whether that’s the warm-up to get him going, he’s all-in. You don’t ever want to take that away. Even on his recovery days, he’s 100 miles per hour.
“As he gets older, he’ll understand how to manage that and how to be. But it’s a great trait to have for a young player and it can certainly set you apart.”
If Gilchrist can become half the defender that the Chelsea legend was, then the Blues will be in possession of a real gem.
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