Musonda shines on professional debut

At 19 years of age, Charly Musonda Jr. will be hoping to play in behind strikers superior to Ricky Van Wolfswinkel in his career, but the young Belgian’s professional debut in Sunday’s La Liga fixture between Real Betis and Gary Neville’s Valencia was enough to show those watching why he is rated so highly amongst Chelsea’s youth prospects.

Sitting in 12th position, without a league win since November and with only two goals in their last nine games prior to Sunday’s fixture, Real Betis are in need of attacking innovation.

Musonda joined Betis last week in an exciting move for any admirers of the young attacking midfielder. Though the 19-year-old – who moved to Chelsea from Anderlecht’s academy in 2012 with his two brothers Lamisha and Tika – has been receiving praise for performances in the Chelsea U21’s set-up, nothing can prepare you for the reality of thousands of fans all packed in to watch a La Liga relegation clash like this one.

The dainty and highly skilled winger played out the whole 90 minutes of Betis’ crucial 1-0 win, and gradually, as he eased in to his professional debut, displayed signs of the impact he can have on the way the La Liga strugglers play.

Though Musonda found it tough in his hustle for involvement in the opening half an hour, what the Betis fans did see was an enthusiastic and talented winger who can be pulsating on the ball, whilst also showing his capability to get stuck-in to tackles (despite the aesthetic assumption).

The Belgian looked comfortable on the ball in a high-tempo game, twisting one way and then another – perhaps contributing to the injury suffered by Valencia’s left-back Siqueira, who was replaced by Jose Gaya just before the break.

A shared nationality and club, those who follow Charly Musonda’s social media pages will know the admiration he shows for his ‘big brother’ Eden Hazard, and the youngster mimicked Chelsea’s star man at times with his ability to draw fouls from the opposition – five in total, the final culminated in the dismissal of Jose Gaya.

The youngster has shown his versatility on the pitch in Chelsea’s academy, featuring as a wide midfielder but also a holding midfielder on numerous occasions.

Chelsea News