The young defender had to be patient as he saw plenty of his fellow Academy graduates make their breakthrough at Chelsea over the past couple of years, but when his chance arrived he took it with both hands.

After spending the 2020/21 season on loan in the French top flight, Chalobah impressed Thomas Tuchel early in pre-season and convinced the German he was ready to become part of his senior squad in the coming campaign.

Dream start

Chalobah could not have hoped for his first season with Chelsea’s senior side to begin much better, as he played an important part in us lifting European silverware on his debut for the club. His composed performance on the right side of a back three in the UEFA Super Cup belied his years and helped us to defeat Villarreal, winning in a penalty shoot-out after a 1-1 draw in Belfast and getting our hands on the trophy for only the second time.

There was more to come too. Three days later, back in west London, the defender was named in Tuchel’s starting line-up again to make his Premier League debut as we hosted Crystal Palace in our opening league game of the season.

It provided one of the most memorable, and emotional, moments of our whole campaign, as he completed the scoring in a 3-0 victory with a strike which was later nominated for Chelsea Goal of the Season. After slotting a low shot in off the post from outside the box, it was clear just how much it meant to Trevoh as he sunk to his knees in tears while his team-mates rushed to congratulate him.

Looking at home

A further Premier League goal followed against Southampton, before he hit the net in the Champions League for the first time in a 4-0 thrashing of Juventus, but it was the seamless way Chalobah integrated himself into the senior squad and looked comfortable alongside his more experienced team-mates in Tuchel's back three that really caught the eye.

His versatility was also shown on occasions, when he provided an additional option in midfield as injury and Covid-19 depleted our ranks in early winter. It is a role he had fulfilled many times during his spells out on loan, although it was on the right of our defence where Tuchel alternated Chalobah with the more experienced Cesar Azpilicueta for large parts of the season.

Mixed second half

However, the brutal winter schedule seemed to take its toll, as a couple of weeks sidelined with a hamstring injury in January was followed by a period out of the team, meaning he was an unused substitute for both games in Abu Dhabi as we triumphed at the FIFA Club World Cup the following month.

When we returned from that tournament he soon found arguably his best form yet though, notably playing through the pain of a nasty gash from a high challenge to help us keep a clean sheet in the Carabao Cup final shoot-out defeat to Liverpool. He was also nominated for Premier League Player of the Month for his contribution to two clean sheets in that competition, in addition to opening the scoring in the 3-1 win over Norwich City.

A dip in form, something Tuchel deemed inevitable for a young player in his first Premier League campaign, meant another absence for a time, but Chalobah returned to the starting line-up for a vital stage of the season. Another clean sheet at Wembley against Liverpool, this time in the FA Cup final, was sandwiched between the 3-0 win at Leeds United and 1-1 draw with Leicester City which effectively secured our third-place finish in the Premier League.

Trevoh Chalobah 2021/22 Chelsea stats

Appearances: 30

Starts: 24

Substituted: 5

Unused sub: 22

Minutes played: 2,416

Goals: 4

Assists: 2

Trevoh Chalobah Premier League appearances 2021/22

Trevoh Chalobah played 20 games in the Premier League for Chelsea this season, coming off the bench for three of them.

Trevoh Chalobah Champions League appearances 2021/22

Trevoh Chalobah made three appearances in the Champions League this season, one from the start.

Trevoh Chalobah FA Cup appearances 2021/22

Trevoh Chalobah played twice in the FA Cup this season, once from the bench.

Trevoh Chalobah Carabao Cup appearances 2021/22

Trevoh Chalobah made four appearances in the Carabao Cup this season, all from the start.

Trevoh Chalobah UEFA Super Cup appearances 2021/22

Trevoh Chalobah played all 120 minutes of the UEFA Super Cup.

Trevoh Chalobah FIFA Club World Cup appearances 2021/22

Trevoh Chalobah was an unused substitute in both matches at the Club World Cup.

Trevoh Chalobah goals 2021/22

Trevoh Chalobah scored four goals for Chelsea in 2021/22, three in the Premier League and one in the Champions League.