BASINGSTOKE footballer Adam Nditi helped Chelsea to win the Barclays Under-21 Premier League in what could be his final game for the club.
The 19-year-old, who was born in Tanzania but moved to Basingstoke at the age of 13, played the full 90 minutes at left-back as Chelsea beat Manchester United 2-1 in the final at Old Trafford last week.
Nditi is out of contract at Stamford Bridge this summer, and while a new deal is on the table, the teenager is weighing up his options.
“I want to be a professional and play first-team football,” he said. “It’s very hard to do that at Chelsea, so there’s a chance that I might move on this summer.
“As it is possibly my last season at Chelsea, I told the boys that I really wanted to go out on a high. Some of us have spent six or seven years together and won the FA Youth Cup, so we gave our all to win again.”
The final was played in front of a crowd of 13,203 at Old Trafford and Chelsea got off to a bad start, Tom Lawrence putting United ahead after just 12 minutes.
Charly Musonda levelled the game soon after and Nditi went close to scoring in the second half, his shot being deflected narrowly wide. The visitors did manage to grab a winner 11 minutes from time though, Lewis Baker firing home from the edge of the area.
Nditi said: “I have got used to playing in front of big crowds, but the atmosphere was unbelievable on the night. When we walked out, the noise really hit us.
“We said before the game that we would not hold anything back and went out to win. It’s the first time that I have been really involved in the under-21 team and we have won the title, so I was really pleased.”
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