Faustino Anjorin is starting for Chelsea tonight against Krasnodar in the Champions League, his first senior start as a Chelsea player.
The 19-year old has made an appearance for Chelsea off the bench last season, but tonight will be a big moment and a dream come true for the academy youngster who has been at the club since 2008.
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Fondly known as ‘Tino’, Anjorin has been one of the names that Chelsea fans have been well aware of for at least a couple of seasons now, he is one who is rated very highly by the youth coaches and senior coaches alike, and he has been knocking hard on Frank Lampard’s door for a while now.
He is always touted as ‘the next Ruben Loftus-Cheek’ due to his build, his physicality, and the way he carries the ball. But there is an argument that he was actually more developed earlier than Loftus-Cheek was at his age, and he has grown in stature very fast.
He is a confident player with great technical ability and an eye for a goal. Last season he bagged 11 goals from midfield and got 6 assists in the youth teams, and the season before that he scored 10 goals and got 4 assists at the tender age of 17.
He has always been deadly in front of the goal and he is a real raw talent. He’s been capped at England youth level, most recently for the under-19s.
Anjorin was born in Poole in Dorset and is of Nigerian origin. He is largely expected to be the next big thing coming out of the Chelsea academy, and he has a fresh contract at the club until 2025 – things are only on the rise from here onwards.
And yes, for those asking, he certainly can play wide, which is where I expect him to feature for Lampard tonight. He’s played their a lot in his youth career, even though he is considered as more of a central attacking midfield player rather than wide.
Enjoy these few clips of what he can do here…
