'Brilliant': Chelsea fans stunned by what they saw from 20-year-old talent at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea have found a new homegrown talent who gets the fans off their seats and Mauricio Pochettino has been listening after handing young Alfie Gilchrist his first Chelsea start against Preston North End. 

The 20-year-old mightly showed character when he was brought on to see out the game against Crystal Palace and that gave birth to his minutes against Luton in the Premier League but it was against Preston in the FA Cup where he showed he belonged. 

He won four of the six tackles he attempted and had 96% passing accuracy as the Blues turned on the style in the second half to beat Championship side Preston North End in the FA Cup. The win was expected but in a season where the focus has been on the expensively assembled stars, it is another home-grown talent who is exciting fans. 

Some of them took to X, formerly Twitter to share their excitement. Derrick Gyan wrote on his handle: " Alfie (Gilchrist ) he is one of our own and it's easy to see why John Terry likes him. Brilliant." 

Another fan with the handle Felix Johnstone said: "Probably the only positive from that half. Made a number of nice tackles, clearances, composed in the box and made runs despite being a natural centre-back."

While Ned Ozkasim said: "Couldn’t be happier for him and the whole family. Dream come true to start a senior game at Stamford Bridge. Really solid performance looked very comfortable on the ball, and very composed defensively - especially playing in an unfamiliar RB position." 

Every great Chelsea have a homegrown player the fans are excited about and with a performance like that, who can bet against Gilchrist going on to become a fan favourite.