Chelsea youngster Max Merrick was included on the club’s first-team bench for the first time ever in yesterday’s game.
Chelsea and Aston Villa met on Friday night in the fourth round of the FA Cup, which ended up finishing 0-0 at Stamford Bridge.
It means the Premier League rivals will lock horns again next month in a cup replay at Villa Park.
Max Merrick, who’s just 18, did end up on Chelsea’s senior bench for the first time in his career.
The teenage goalkeeper is still waiting to make his first-team debut, but it’s another great stepping stone for him.
Following an injury to Levi Colwill in the warm up, Chelsea confirmed via X that Alfie Gilchrist would move from the bench to the starting line-up against Villa. That allowed Merrick to take Gilchrist’s position in the dugout alongside the rest of the substitutes.
The young keeper has played his football this season across Chelsea’s Under-21s and Under-18s team, but we’ll be keeping a close eye on him after yesterday.
Who is Max Merrick?
Merrick joined Chelsea several years ago as an Under-13 footballer, so it’s great to see him bumped up into a first-team matchday squad this week.
The English gloveman has spent time developing in the academy, albeit there’s a lot of promising young goalkeepers on the club’s books.
He’s spent a brief spell out on loan with Hanwell, a Southern League Premier Division South club.
Will we get to see him earn a loan move in the Football League at some stage?
Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino is proving he won’t shut the door on the club’s academy players, something anyone will have known from following his career. It’s why we’ve seen the likes of Gilchrist and Leo Castledine get first-team minutes this campaign under Pochettino.
There’s a real incentive for the rising Chelsea stars at Cobham to dream of a first-team breakthrough. Of course, that dream is even harder for someone to realise in a specialist position like a goalkeeper.