Chelsea to complete first January transfer with wonderkid Mauricio Pochettino loves set for move

The arrival of Alex Matos at Chelsea was understated. He was not a signing that broached seven figures who hailed from South America that dominated the headlines of the world's media.

Instead Chelsea landed the 19-year-old as his contract with Norwich came to an end. In a summer that saw Andrey Santos join up with the first team squad, Angelo Gabriel signed and even Diego Moreira sign on a free before joining up with theh squad for pre-season, Matos was firmly under the radar.

While he did not make the trip to the United States, he embedded himself within Chelsea's development squad. From the outside, many will have expected Matos to remain there for the duration of the season as he adjusted to a new environment. The ambition was always to progress more quickly for the youngster however, with the hope of impressing and achieving a loan move to continue to develop part of his mindset.

With a medical to complete before making the January move to Huddersfield on loan, it's safe to say he was successful in that endeavour.

Matos' progress may have even surprised himself however. It was not long after the first team squad returned to British shores Matos would be able to cement his impression in west London.

Having featured in the centre of midfield and quickly impressed in Premier League 2 under Mark Robinson, the first international break of 2023/24 saw the youngster train under Mauricio Pochettino. While injuries have impacted Chelsea's squad throughout the season, Matos was able to stand tall in a competitive environment to make a first team squad for the first time against Bournemouth. Two weeks later he had played his first Premier League minute.

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