Chelsea have opted to activate a clause in Sam McClelland's contract to see him stay with the Blues for another 12 months. The Northern Ireland international signed his first professional deal with the club in 2019, which saw him commit to Cobham until this summer.
The 20-year-old defender, currently on international duty with Northern Ireland's under-21 side, made his senior international in June 2021 when he came off the bench to play against Ukraine. McClelland featured prominently in the heart of the development team's defence at the start of the 2021/22 season, completing 90 minutes eight times in nine matches across Premier League 2, UEFA Youth League and the EFL Trophy and captained the side on four of those occasions.
However, since September, the young defender has not featured for the Blues as he attempted to overcome a longstanding injury. Nevertheless, his stay in west London has been extended as he comes towards his fifth year with the club after joining the academy set-up from Coleraine in 2018.
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McClelland has previously cited John Terry as one of his inspirations. He said: "In football, I looked up to John Terry here at Chelsea. Him being a leader, reading the game and the way he played inspired me. In life, I'd say my dad, he's always there for me and does everything I need."
McClelland was one of a number of players who have featured for the development team whose contracts were set to expire at the end of this month. Charly Musonda has already announced his departure from the club, while the likes of George McEachran, Xavier Simons and Thierno Ballo could all see their contracts expire.
Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen's contracts are set to expire at the end of the month, and the duo depart for pastures new. Chelsea will hope to avoid similar problems once again as Jorginho, and N'Golo Kante lead a whole host of players set to enter the final 12 months of their deals.
