Exclusive: Chelsea starlet set to celebrate new contract with loan or possible first team place | OneFootball

This afternoon we’ve heard the excellent news that Chelsea’s young academy left back Ishe Samuels-Smith has signed a new contract at the club.

Nizaar Kinsella and others reported that the youngster and the club had come to terms of a deal which runs until 2031. Having joined the club in 2023 as a 16 year old for a fee of around £4m, he’s proved to be every bit as good as we’d hoped, and is already captaining the Under 21s.

While plenty of his Development Squad peers have already had a debut, Ishe has had to be patient, and has instead focused on racking up a lot of really important minutes at different youth levels. The Manchester born 18 year old has 6 goal contributions in 18 games in PL2 this year.

Samuels-Smith ready for senior breakout with contract now secured

Ishe Samuels-Smith drives forward. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)

It also reinforced what we wrote a couple of weeks ago about ISS and his future. Despite having been on the  bench a few times this season, Ishe has yet to make his debut. But it’s not far off, and the plan is to either loan him out next season or bring him into the first team picture for regular minutes at left back.

That decision will be made later in the summer when the future of other players in that position (like Renato Veiga) are decided and we have a better idea of the loan landscape.

Either way, next season is going to be a huge step forward for Ishe on the back of this contract, and we can’t wait to see him in action, wherever he ends up. A Championship move similar to the one that saw Reece James have his breakout with Wigan all those years ago could be perfect, but some Premier League teams are likely to have interest too.