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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Nizaar Kinsella

Bashir Humphreys in demand after impressive loan as Chelsea faced with contract decision

Chelsea defender Bashir Humphreys is attracting both loan and permanent interest from Championship and European clubs after a successful six months in Germany.

Coventry City, who have former Blues academy coach Adi Viveash as their assistant manager, are one of the clubs keen on the 20-year-old, who has one year left on his Chelsea contract.

The Blues can exercise an option to extend that deal by a further year, before allowing him to go out on a season-long loan.

Humphreys looks set be rewarded for a productive year, after rising from his role as the Under-21s captain to become a first-team player.

The Cobham academy graduate made his Chelsea debut away at Manchester City in the FA Cup third round, in what was a difficult 4-0 defeat amid a mid-season injury crisis.

Humphreys then spent the latter part of the campaign on loan at high-flying Paderborn, competing at the upper end of the second-tier in Germany and facing top-flight Stuttgart in the German Cup.

He was also a starter during England's Under-20s World Cup campaign, bowing out at the round of 16 stage against Argentina. Humphreys looks set to step up into Lee Carsley's Under-21s squad next season.

The defender has reflected on his productive 12 months in an interview with Chelsea's official website. He said: "I feel pride in the fact that I proved a lot to myself and showed up for myself in moments that were tough, but above all, I am grateful in the opportunities I received this season.

"Firstly from Graham Potter and his staff who gave me my debut at Chelsea. It was a tough time for the team and a risk to put in a young centre-back but they still took that risk and trusted me.

"Then to Benjamin Weber and Lukas Kwasniok for all the faith that they put in me at Paderborn. From the minute I got to Paderborn they made it clear that they valued me and they wanted to help me develop and progress as a player."

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