Former Newcastle United academy midfielder Ollie Harrison made an appearance on the Chelsea bench on Saturday, with the Blaydon-born 16-year-old having just departed last summer.
Widely regarded as a big prospect for the future, the five-capped England Under-17s international has also already progressed to the under-21s for Chelsea and looks to have been one let slip by Dan Ashworth, who fought hard to keep him on Tyneside to no avail.
Though he didn’t get a run out against Manchester City on the weekend, his inclusion on the bench at such a young age is an indication of the faith that Mauricio Pochettino and co. have in Harrison.
It feels even further a kick in the teeth when you consider the comments made by Harrison who told the club website three months before his departure: “Everyone at the club have put a huge amount of time into my development as a player.”
Coached by Iain Bogie and Mark Atkinson at the under-16 stage of our academy, he progressed to Chris Moore and Graeme Carrick for the under-18s – and has even been likened to the latter’s son, Michael.
In a similar ilk to Liverpool’s Bobby Clarke, it feels to no uncertain extent that this is another top tier ex-academy and local lad that has slipped through our fingers.
Truth be told, with how stretched our midfield has been it wouldn’t have been a surprise if either had first team minutes under their belts if they had remained in the North East – proof of their ability, but also in our lack of depth.
I think this was referring to the latter’s brother, Michael. Rather than his son
Alan(Quote)