Tyrique George is practically a collector’s item at Chelsea – a 19-year-old from their Cobham production line who cracked first team football without needing any loans.
Reece James, Levi Colwill, Trevoh Chalobah, Conor Gallagher, Mason Mount, Dominic Solanke, Fikayo Tomori, Tammy Abraham – we could go on – they all went elsewhere for the experience.
But not George.
Permanently promoted midway through last season, he went straight from the Under 21s into Enzo Maresca’s side, and scored the third goal in their 3-0 Club World Cup win over ES Tunis as they reached the last 16 here in the United States.
As the softly-spoken teenager tells us while standing beside their training pitch in Philadelphia, he is not too bothered by the talk of them signing another left winger such as Borussia Dortmund’s Jamie Gittens.
Nor does he get bogged down by the fact that he represents pure profit in a PSR world.
While he describes himself as ‘reserved’, George backs himself to overcome the odds further, not only by staying at Chelsea for the foreseeable but by forcing his way into the line-up as ‘one of their own’.
‘I’m not too sure how I did it,’ he says on featuring for Chelsea’s seniors. ‘I just worked hard, every day in training, trying to show that I want to play. I’ve just got my chops.
‘I’ve heard it a few times (the fans singing how he is one their own). It means so much. Really.
‘When they sing my name, you feel tingles in your body, it’s weird. I just get so happy.’
Asked whether he is concerned that homegrown footballers can be seen as assets, he replies: ‘I’m not really focused on what’s going on elsewhere.
‘When you’re at Chelsea, you just want to play. There’s always going to be competition whether they do sign one (a left winger) or not.
‘I’m always ready to learn from them. I learn from all the forward players.’
George grew up in Camden – don’t worry, he insists he doesn’t support Arsenal – and was spied by a Chelsea scout at the age of eight.
At 12 years-old, on their recommendation, he moved to South Croydon to attend Royal Russell School.
Going from one area of London to another may not sound like too grand of a leap, but for a kid, it is another world.
He credits his mum, Anita, with helping him fulfil his dream in becoming a professional footballer.
‘It was a tough move,’ he recalls. ‘I was emotional, if I’m being honest.
‘All my friends were in north London. I didn’t really want to move to South Croydon.
‘Basically, my whole life was in Camden.
‘But it was a decision I had to make for my career. I had that self-belief.
‘My family backed me as well so it gave me that confidence to take that step. I could have stayed but I chose to leave.
‘It was closer to Cobham. I think it was worth it.
‘I used to get the train with my mum from Camden to Cobham, which was really long.
‘After school, there and back. I’ve got no clue what lines we took.
‘I’d just get on the train with mum. She put in all those hours for me. She didn’t have to do it.
‘She took me to training after she’d finished work, there and back, tired. She’s a teacher.
‘Training would be an hour and a half. We’d get back late, but it was worth it.’
Having won Chelsea’s academy player of the season for 2024-25, George feels as if he is now repaying his mum with the leaps he is taking.
‘Of course I’m proud, but I don’t really take the time to think about it, just because everything’s so fast-paced,’ he says.
‘I’m happy for myself. I just want to keep growing and keep playing and see where it takes me – hopefully to a really high level.’
It has taken him to Chelsea’s first team at 19 years-old thus far, and had he not scored his stupendous late strike away at Fulham in April, his club may have never made it into the Champions League.
George is itching to show what he can do on that stage next season, but first, there is Benfica in the Club World Cup last 16 on Saturday.
