Three Nigerian starlets Prince Adegoke, Derrick Abu and Kelechi Chibueze have jumped into the professional development phase after signing new scholarship deals with Chelsea at Cobham last week.

Both Adegoke and Chibueze are goalkeepers, while Abu is a marauding attack-minded fullback in the mould of Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The trio have all made the bench for Chelsea U18s in the past, while still schoolboys, and were part of the squad that won the Premier League U16 International Tournament last year.

Through their official Twitter account, Chelsea have uploaded a video introducing the 2020-2021 Academy scholars and their first official words after signing the new contracts.

Prince Adegoke : "Hello, my name is Prince Adegoke. I am 16 and I am a goalkeeper at Chelsea'. Hard work definitely, consistent hard work throughout the whole time I have been at Chelsea."

Derrick Abu : "I am an attacking fullback that loves to get forward, that loves to get crosses in. I have been here since I was ten years old and the dream is to be one of the best players in Europe and at Chelsea."

Kelechi Chibueze : "I didn't even think it was possible to get to this stage. To sign as a scholar, great club like Chelsea, is unbelievable. The hard work continues, the grind continues. I am not stopping now, I have come so far. There is no point stopping."

Ifeanyi Emmanuel