Jamal Blackman has been training with Belgian club Standard Liege ahead of a potential loan move next month.
The Belgian giants visited Chelsea on a recruitment trip hoping to sign some young players on loan and have selected the 22-year-old as a target after increasing interest from around Europe for their own young goalkeeper, Guillaume Hubert.
Blackman is fourth choice for the goalkeeper spot, behind Thibaut Courtois, Asmir Begovic and Marco Amelia, and will be hoping to gather some playing experience in the Belgian Pro League.
Can this give him a much needed opportunity?
There was an apparent lack of trust in Blackman’s abilities when Courtois was injured earlier in the season. Chelsea were unhappy with the youngster being the back-up goalkeeper behind Begovic and actively sought out Amelia, who was a free agent following a short spell with Lupa Castelli Romani, to take that role.
A product of the Chelsea youth academy, Blackman has been with the Premier League champions since he played for their U-13 level. After rising through the ranks, Blackman has struggled to find first team action despite signing his professional contract with the Blues in 2012, aged 19.
Blackman has been a regular for Chelsea’s youth teams, and was part of the 2012 FA Youth Cup victory over Blackburn Rovers.
A struggle for first-team football
The England U-19 international moved on a short loan to Middlesbrough in the summer of 2014, lasting until January 2015. He only made one appearance for the championship side, which came against Liverpool in the Capital One Cup. Middlesbrough lost 13-14 in a penalty shootout, following a 2-2 draw.
Should the loan move happen next month, Blackman will join a list of English Chelsea youngsters loaned to overseas clubs, along with the likes of Nathniel Chalobah (Napoli), Lewis Baker (Vitesse Arnhem), Isaiah Brown (Vitesse), Dominic Solanke (Vitesse) and Todd Kane (NEC Nijmegen).
