The strangely mixed reaction to Chelsea’s player’s “incredible achievement” | OneFootball

Chelsea academy kid Reggie Walsh became the youngest player to ever feature for the Blues in a European game last night when he started as a 16 year old, and on the London is Blue podcast today they spoke about how he had got on and some of the reaction to his showing.

Reaction to Reggie Walsh’s first start online

Reggie Walsh on his full debut. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

“Reggie Walsh getting a start, as we mentioned,” presenter Dan Dormer said.

“I think there are maybe people who are a little harsh on grading a performance in what was effectively a ‘dead rubber, don’t get injured’ game, but I was just more excited to see him get an opportunity to play.”

Co-host Nick Verlaney agreed:

“He’s 16 years old, man. And he’s playing big, big, big time football. It’s an incredible achievement for him, it’s an incredible achievement for his family. I thought he was dynamic, he was trying a lot of stuff. He was trying to figure out the right kind of positioning to get passes in from the centre of the park, and he was trying to figure out where Ty’s run was going to be, mostly, and I don’t think it came off that often, but that’s OK. He is a young player and I’m just excited for him.”

You can see their discussion in the clip embedded here:

Walsh does everything asked of him in debut

We’re not sure who they’re following on social media to have seen any criticism of the youngster, but it must be someone with a truly gloomy outlook on life.

There was so much to like in Reggie’s showing – firstly the sheer confidence in being able to play. We also thought it was super impressive he played the full game, despite his age. Some players wouldn’t be physically able to at that age. His stats from the game were solid too – drawing 4 fouls shows how much he was scaring the opposition when he ran with the ball.

You couldn’t really ask for a better debut from a 16 year old, from how we saw it.