Highly promising academy center back signs Chelsea contract extension

The Chelsea academy may be loaded to the brim — we're probably overflowing, in fact — with attacking talent, including some of the best of the best around Europe whom we'd surely covet with envious eyes if they were playing anywhere else other than at Chelsea (or on loan from Chelsea).  Talents like Jeremie Boga or Charly Musonda could very well be making waves on the European scene a decade from now.  If we play our cards right, of course.

The situation is less obviously stellar in positions further back on the pitch, such as at goalkeeper or even in defense, from where we did produce the last two homegrown players to play regularly for the first-team (John Terry of course and, for a couple seasons, Ryan Bertrand).  One man who could very well change that in the next couple years is Jake Clarke-Salter, who just signed a brand new 3.5-year contract extension.

Under-21 defender Jake Clarke-Salter has today signed a new contract until 2019... https://t.co/hmSRuCRNcY pic.twitter.com/B98evHmcvC

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) November 16, 2015

The center back, who has been at Chelsea since the under-9 level, just turned 18 recently, but was already part of our post- and pre-season tours this past summer.  A  mainstay of the U18 and U19 sides in the last couple years, he's now an U21 regular, progressing up the ladder and reaching the point where the tough decisions will have to be made.  Loan or no loan?  First-team action?  One would think the quickly aging and bit crap Chelsea defense would afford a few key opportunities for the likes of Clarke-Salter, especially with Andreas Christensen not due back from his Gladbach loan for another year and a half.