Chelsea youngster, Harvey Vale has made it clear he wants to earn a spot in the first team.

The versatile player, who can play both as an attacking midfielder and a forward, currently plies his trade with League One side, Bristol Rovers, where he has racked up an impressive 2,337 minutes of game time.

Vale was sent out on loan last summer, after making his Chelsea debut back in the 2021-22 season, but he insists that his plan is to return at the end of the season and make a good enough impression on Mauricio Pochettino in pre-season so as to make it back into the first team.

He told The Athletic during a recent chat: “There are so many big names on that list… I’m sure there will be some on there wishing they were in my position. I know I did that last season when I was at Hull and not seeing much action.

“We’ve had lots of chats [with Alfie Gilchrist] over the years about our dreams and ambitions. One of those is obviously to play in the Chelsea team together. The academy encourage you to go and watch first-team games. When we saw Reece James, Conor Gallagher and Trevoh Chalobah playing, having come through together, we sat there thinking: ‘This could be us one day.’

“I see Alfie getting his chance and it gives me belief, too. It probably worked the same way for him, too, when I made my Chelsea debut. To see the academy boys even on the bench — and there have been quite a lot this season — has been encouraging. You can see a pathway is still there.

“You still have to work really hard for it because this is one of the biggest clubs in the world. That is the way it has to be.

“Come the summer, we’ll evaluate how well I’ve done and have talks. We will take it from there. My next target will be trying to impress Mauricio Pochettino in pre-season; to have an opportunity to prove myself.

“Playing for Chelsea’s first team is my No 1 goal.”