Harvey Vale comments should help Bristol Rovers land future Chelsea deals: View | OneFootball

Bristol Rovers are accruing a healthy list of Premier League academy graduates who have graced the Memorial Stadium pitch to then rapidly break into the first team at their parent clubs - playing on some of football's biggest stages.

Elliot Anderson would be the standout performer who, within a few months of his mesmerising spell with the Gas, would be turning out for Newcastle United in the Champions League, and Jarell Quansah, the Liverpool FC starlet who impressed at the Gas during his stay last season, and has so far made 29 appearances for the Reds' first team this campaign.

It’s often perceived in the game that while Premier League 2 may serve a purpose in offering young players essential playing time, the EFL can be the best opportunity for them to experience the gruel and relentlessness many of the top sides now require from their prospects.

Harvey Vale’s development in his own words

Harvey Vale is the latest youngster to come from a top Premier League academy and establish himself in the Bristol Rovers starting lineup. His defensive prowess and forward flair have presented Rovers bosses this season with an exciting and versatile option as they’ve wrestled to find the right balance for their team during an injury-ravaged and frustrating 2023-24 campaign.

Vale has expressed his personal satisfaction at his development while playing for Rovers and what he’s had to say must surely give Chelsea strong food for thought when it comes to considering a temporary development base for their young hopefuls.

In his post-match interview with the media, last weekend, Vale said that he could “100 percent” see his progress.

He said: “We do reviews with the Chelsea loan guys every week, and the difference between the first few games and now, you can see the difference and you can see the improvement and when there’s evidence for that it’s always a good feeling.”

Quizzed about the different positions he’s played this term Vale said: “I think it helps you with your game as well. Say next season I went and played attack and I’ve played left-back the last few games, I’ll know what the defender’s thinking and it can help me and vice-versa if I’m in defence. It’s all good for my game for sure”

It's "massively" different

On the comparison between academy football and men’s football, the Chelsea prospect claimed it was “massively” different, going on to say: “I think it’s sort of taken for granted sometimes, especially when you’re in an academy looking out. It’s a little bit of a bubble and then you step into the real world, proper football, it is difficult, it is hard to adapt.”

Speaking of the faith Rovers have shown in him, Vale said: “You’re learning on the job all the time, and you’re going to make mistakes and thankfully at Rovers, the staff and the players and everyone else have trusted in me after I’ve made mistakes to keep faith in me and I think I’ve come through the other side of it well.”

Vale captained the England u19’s team to European Championship glory in 2022, so it matters to England as well as Chelsea how the 20-year-old develops.

Bristol Rovers youth ambition

Rovers have made it a strategic priority to ensure they develop their own youth prospects, as well as, it seems, looking higher up as a way to grow the skill set of the squad alongside the ambition of the club to keep looking upwards.

In recent times, thanks to the investment of co-owner Wael Al Qadi, Rovers have committed to enhancing the infrastructure at the club, which has seen the introduction of a new training complex.

The hierarchy at Rovers - which now also includes controlling shareholder and Chairman Hussain Al Saeed, and his son Abdullatif as club Vice-President - have vowed to continue the development of the training complex, which also includes a commitment to take the clubs own youth academy from Category 3 to a category 2 status.

The aspiration to enhance their own production line along with the goal of building new infrastructure, could be the making of a strong ethos of cultivation and opportunity, which they will hope translates into success on the pitch.

Rovers own Luca Hoole and Jed Ward are youngsters who have risen through the ranks at the Pirates to earn international youth call-ups, both of whom have the potential to make the senior squads.

But the loan market is likely to still be an important asset and that makes Vale's comments important as any parent club – particularly Chelsea – would be hard-pressed to ignore the results of the work the Gas have been doing developing the next generation.