Official: Charlie Webster extends Chelsea contract

Chelsea youngster Charlie Webster ended speculation about his future by agreeing a contract extension through the end of next season. The 18-year-old’s contract was set to expire in the summer, but we’ve got him for another year now at least. Ideally we would’ve agreed a longer-term deal, but this is probably the best we can do considering the interest he was reportedly generating in England and abroad as well (including from Borussia Dortmund).

It would be hard to fault players coming up through the Academy at the moment for thinking that the pathways to the first-team are getting narrower once again (despite intentions to the contrary), given Chelsea’s record levels of spending in the transfer market — especially when that spending is targeting players in their early 20s, with massive long-term contracts getting handed out like candy.

Webster made the matchday squad twice last year, once in the FA Cup (third round) and once in the League Cup (quarterfinals), but didn’t quite get to make his senior debut. He’s not been as involved with the first-team this season, but did play in our mid-season preseason friendly against Aston Villa in Abu Dhabi. He’s been a regular for our under-21s in the PL2, scoring 5 goals in 14 appearances from midfield.

And as reported on the Chelsea official website, fellow youngsters Ronnie Stutter, 18, and Harrison McMahon, 17 also signed new contracts, through 2024 and 2025, respectively.

Stutter, a former West Ham trainee, has been dealing with injuries this season, but the highly rated forward recently made his comeback with a 30-minute cameo in the FA Youth Cup fourth round on Thursday (unfortunately Chelsea U18 crashed out of the competition with a 1-0 defeat to Cambridge United). He had scored 9 goals in 16 appearances in the U18 Premier League last season.

McMahon turned 17 yesterday, which made him eligible for his first pro-deal, so it’s nice to see that come together. The young midfielder, who also came over from West Ham a couple years ago, has been a regular for our U18 squad and recently made his PL2 debut as well with a couple substitute appearances for the under-21s.