It has been a long time coming since Chelsea signed Gabriel Slonina in the summer, but the USA national has now finally made his first appearance for the Blues. The 18-year-old remained with Chicago Fire on loan until the MLS season and made visits to Cobham and to Chelsea away games but finally arrived full-time at Cobham for 2023.
The youngster has already racked up 43 first team appearances in the MLS but has to work his way past Edouard Mendy, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Marcus Bettinelli to earn a regular first team role. His first outing in Chelsea colours came for the under-21 side in Premier League 2.
Slonina recorded his first clean sheet in a 2-0 win over Wolves sealed by Mason Burstow and Dion Rankine in a solid display. It seems he could be the the figure helping to lead the charge for Mark Robinson's side for the remainder of the season.
