Chelsea starlet racks up incredible stat in away win – proves he’s ready for loan | OneFootball

Chelsea’s academy is always producing young stars, so it’s no surprise that some make it pretty far through without getting much acclaim.

Levi Colwill is a great example – there were a lot of players in his academy age group getting more hype than him, yet by 19 years old it was clear he had the potential to be world class.

Sam Rak-Sakyi is in the same boat .Now 19, so many of his peers have had more hype. His injuries haven’t helped either. Were it not for them, he might already have had a brilliant season the Championship to flourish, as Colwill had.

But finally the young midfielder is getting some first team minute, and he shone on his first start for the club tonight against Astana. Deployed in central midfield. It’s easy to say that anyone could play like this against such poor opposition – but he looked far better than the more experienced Carney Chukwuemeka and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

The conditions weren’t easy either – he’s gone from academy football to freezing temperatures on the other end of the continent. That’s not something you can necessarily adapt to instantly, yet he managed it. We’re sure Enzo Maresca was delighted with the kid’s impact.

He only missed one pass in the 85 minutes he played. You can see his stats in the image embedded here:

Sam Rak-Sakyi’s heatmap and stats against Astana.

Loan the obvious next step for developing talent

A loan should surely come next – it’s vital for his development. 19 is pretty old for this Chelsea squad, and senior minutes are the obvious next step for Sam. After showings like this, there should be no shortage of takers in January and next summer if the club look to loan him out.

A Championship move just like Levi for the second half of the season would be a delight.