EXCLUSIVEChelsea rising star Alfie Gilchrist on being mentored by idol John Terry and what critics of Blues' academy strategy are missing

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Alfie Gilchrist chuckles as he is told about the phone call which came two weeks before our interview, when Mail Sport’s nursery run was not interrupted by a pesky PPI sales pitch but rather a pleasant JT one.

Safe to say, John Terry is a fan of Gilchrist, with the Chelsea legend and coach hyping up the 20-year-old defender in whom he says he sees shades of himself.

Endorsements hardly come higher than that from Terry, who kindly called after Mail Sport had asked the academy adviser for insight into one of Chelsea’s most promising prospects, who is on loan at Championship high-flyers Sheffield United.

Flattered as he is that his ‘idol’ should vouch for his potential so passionately, Gilchrist knows he has a long way to go to fulfil it as he grafts in the fine footballing city of Sheffield.

Interest was shown by other clubs in the Championship last summer, as well as Germany’s Bundesliga and Italy’s Serie A. But Gilchrist, a right back and centre back, only ever had eyes for Bramall Lane as he explains in his first newspaper interview.

‘As soon as I heard about Sheffield United, that’s all I was interested in. I wanted to get here as soon as possible,’ Gilchrist says.

Alfie Gilchrist has risen through the Chelsea ranks but he's looking to prove himself on loan

The Cobham prospect has been closely mentored by his boyhood idol and Chelsea defensive legend John Terry 

Now plying his trade at Sheffield United Gilchrist described his move as 'a perfect opportunity'

‘I’d been here last season when I was on the bench (in a 2-2 draw). I saw the atmosphere and thought this was somewhere I’d like to play.

‘I watched them after being promoted under Chris Wilder in 2019 and I really liked the way they played with overlapping centre backs. I spoke to the manager and it was a perfect chance for me to show what I can do.

‘It was just the next step for me, you know? There was a big squad at Chelsea, I wanted to play this season and this is what I needed to do. So far, it’s worked out to be the right decision.’

Gilchrist joined Chelsea at Under 11 level from QPR so it was half a lifetime ago, literally, since he wore another club’s jersey. But his passion suits the red and white of the Blades and he is grateful that Sheffield is starting to feel like a home from home, with Wilder adding what he describes as the ‘nice touch’ of a personal tour of Bramall Lane on the day he arrived.

A hectic day it was, too. Gilchrist was checked over at the Canon Medical Arena, put pen to paper at the Blades’ training complex, pitted for lunch at the Piccolino Italian restaurant, then went flat hunting, because it is much better being all-in than residing in the Radisson.

There’s no coddling from Wilder, mind, even if Gilchrist is a loanee aged 20 in a new city. ‘Everyone is the same, one of his players,’ he says. ‘You realise the importance of every game to the club and the fans, especially in Sheffield.’

Not least in their last outing, a 1-0 Steel City derby victory over Sheffield Wednesday in which he started at right back.

‘That was big,’ he continues. ‘I had people coming up to me in the street or when I was doing my shopping, saying, “You know this is a big game? You have to do this. You have to do that”. You could feel the atmosphere rising. It was a special day.’

Gilchrist joined Chelsea at Under 11 level from QPR (pictured in 2021) but has been a lifelong Blues fan from a Chelsea-supporting family

The defender broke through to the first team last term under then-coach Mauricio Pochettino 

Club hierarchy are keeping a close eye on their loanee alongside other loan stars including Bashir Humphreys (centre) and Andrey Santos (right)

Gilchrist was so overcome with the excitement at scoring against Everton that his celebration felt like a blur of emotion

Gilchrist watches Chelsea when his schedule permits, though that will not be possible on Saturday as the Blades’ 12.30pm kick-off in Coventry clashes with his parent club’s trip to Leicester.

There will be coaches poring over his performance back at Cobham, as the Blues remain in regular contact with Gilchrist via the loan department headed up by former goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini.

Reece James and Levi Colwill dived into season-long loans in the Championship with Wigan and Huddersfield respectively at the beginning of their careers. Today, they are stars of Stamford Bridge, one the club captain, the other their best centre back.

Chelsea fans will remember Gilchrist’s debut last season, even if it came as an 89th-minute substitute in a win over Palace. His first contribution was a bone-crunching challenge on Jeffrey Schlupp, followed by an attempted block with his head, a la Terry. They haven’t forgotten his first strike which completed a 6-0 victory over Everton, either. Nobody had ever celebrated a sixth goal as euphorically as Gilchrist did that day.

He confesses of his right-footed blast beyond Jordan Pickford: ‘I cannot even remember what happened after that. The emotions took over. The excitement. It’s something that fans like.

'I was one of those fans as well.’

That is true, as Gilchrist hails from a family of Blues and grew up going to games, sitting in Stamford Bridge’s East Stand. Given Terry was his idol, is it surreal having the Chelsea captain, leader, legend as a mentor?

‘It was weird the first few times, yeah, surreal, but you get used to it,’ he says of their one-on-one meetings and pep talks. ‘You have a connection, a relationship, you can speak openly. He’s good for me. He had a top career and did it for a long time.

‘I feel like I’m progressing with every game. I’m happy here. Promotion is the aim for us and then next season, we will see what happens.’

John Terry's verdict on Alfie Gilchrist

Literally from the first training session in which I saw him, he reminded me of myself. He was keen to learn, asking me questions about defending and constantly picking my brains over what I would do in different situations.

And he’s 100 per cent in everything he does. Whether that’s the warm-up to get him going, he’s all-in. You don’t ever want to take that away. Even on his recovery days, he’s 100 miles per hour.

As he gets older, he’ll understand how to manage that and how to be. But it’s a great trait to have for a young player and it can certainly set you apart.

If you’re at Chelsea, you’ve got great ability in the first place to be there. But it’s really important for younger players to have that mentality and Alfie had that in abundance even from an early age.

Even when I was having conversations with Alfie, he’d just broken into the Under 21s, which was great, but he had targets he wanted to hit – clean sheet target, goal target, and he wanted to make his debut for the first team.

He said: ‘I’m looking for my next steps, JT. After that, I really want to get out on loan.’ That was music to my ears. Alfie was very keen to get out and into a dressing room with grown men.

Terry has been excited by the player's willingness to learn and his desire to give 100 percent

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I see him as a centre back but he looks very comfortable at right back playing in the Championship. Even at times for the Under 21s, he stepped into midfield and played that holding role.

Being very comfortable on the ball is the way in modern-day football and he’s got that. That’s going to serve him well moving forward and the higher he goes in the game.

Hopefully, he comes back to Chelsea and breaks through into our team. When you see the journeys of these young players, and you play a small part in helping them, it’s really rewarding for me, being Chelsea through and through.

I love it. Alfie and all of his family are Chelsea, too, so I know deep down he wants to come back and break through.