The youngster has been more and more involved recently (Picture: Getty)
Mauricio Pochettino has heaped praise on Chelsea teenager Alex Matos and has promised to keep a pathway open for academy graduates to make it in the first team.
The Argentine coach has handed out six debuts to players aged 20 or under so far this season, with Matos given brief cameos off the bench against Fulham in the Premier League and Blackburn in the Carabao Cup.
His move to Stamford Bridge last summer largely went under the radar amid of flurry of marquee signings, but he has been impressing Pochettino enormously in training.
‘His personality, his character is always so focused,’ said Pochettino of the 19-year-old, who was signed from Norwich.
‘Of course he’s talented with potential. He’s really impressed me with his focus in everything. He’s so smart, watching always everything, always smiling.
‘To compete with the first-team players is tough. But he’s really competitive, he’s really strong. He’ll kick you and smile at you.
‘It’s nice to have this type of profile. I’m happy with him. There’s some massive talent in the academy in all the different teams.
Alex Matos could feature against Newcastle tonight (Picture: Getty)
‘After four, five months we’ve had possibility to assess them all, and I think we have many young, talented players that, with time and given the possibility, can reach the level of Chelsea.’
In addition to Matos, Levi Colwill, Bashir Humphreys, Deivid Washington, Diego Moreira and Mason Burstow have all made their Chelsea debuts under Pochettino.
The Argentine is noted for developing and nurturing academy talent and intends to continue doing so at Stamford Bridge despite their big spending, saying it is important that young players can see a pathway into the first team.
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He continued: ‘The challenge is also to improve the young players that have arrived, like Romeo Lavia or Deivid Washington.
‘But also the players coming through the academy, we care a lot about that. We love the work that they are doing there in the academy.
‘The talent is there, now we need to create the capacity. They need to believe that they can reach the first team. It’s not only about signing young players. It’s about academy players having the opportunity if they deserve to be involved.’
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