Throughout our pre-season tour, we will hear firsthand from the Chelsea Academy players who have travelled with the squad. After hearing from Reggie Watson and Calvin Diakite, now we turn to Reggie Walsh who reflects on an 'unbelievable' past 18 months and an enjoyable learning experience on tour...
I’ve never been to any of the places we’re visiting on this tour. Australia was such a long flight and it took us a while to adapt to the time difference, the jet lag and things like that, but I really liked Sydney. Now we’re in Hong Kong and I’m excited for this experience.
Training has been intense but really enjoyable. We’re working with the new manager and it has been great with him and his staff so far. Everyone knows what he was like as a player; he had such a top career. He was a bit before my time but I’ve seen clips of him and understand how big in the game he was – well, is.
He’s the same as a manager as he was as a player. The way he carries himself, even as a person too, is really good and something I look up to.
Having opportunities like this are brilliant for a young player. It’s really going to benefit our development and I'm always learning, no matter what it is, whether it's a training or a game or just being around a matchday experience.
It’s been good to see what the top players do, and how I can implement those habits and characteristics into my game.
There’s a lot of downtime. Most of the time I've just been in my room, just chilling, really. I think that's because the training days are so intense and training is so tough! But the cities we’ve visited so far have looked amazing.
I’m just so grateful to be a part of the group. I grew up just a few minutes’ walk from Stamford Bridge and all my family are Chelsea fans. I’ve always gone to games as a supporter, so to play for your club is a dream come true and I just want more of that.
It’s been an unbelievable past 18 months or so for me, on a personal note. I made my debut for Chelsea, which was incredible and what was funny is that I was actually was back in school the next day!
The game was at 8pm, as it was a Thursday night, and then I was in class on the Friday. Thankfully they let me come in later, around midday, so I could catch up on some sleep!
I also played in the Champions League last season against Ajax, which was such a surreal moment, as I’d grown up watching it on TV.
I’ve learnt so much from this tour and my ambition now is to keep playing, keep progressing and look to take the next step in my development. And being around the senior players here on tour is only going to benefit me.