Reggae Boy Michael Hector Makes Che‎lsea Debut

Reggae Boyz’ defender turns out for his boyhood club
 
Michael Hector made his long-awaited Chelsea debut last night, making a 58th-minute substitute appearance in the 3-0 friendly success at Austrian top-flight side WAC RZ Pellets. The 23-year-old was named on the bench for the second successive match, but replaced Senegal international Papy Djilobodji – who started alongside veteran John Terry again – in Klagenfurt.

Although new Chelsea boss Antonio Conte employed a 4-4-2 formation, and made a trio of changes following Saturday’s shock 2-0 defeat at Rapid Vienna, there was no starting berth for Hector. ‎Jamaica’s towering defender was signed by Chelsea last September in a deadline day deal from Reading, but stayed with the English Championship side on loan last season.
 
And it appears that he will fighting for a place in the Chelsea side with Djilobodji, who was snapped up last August but was loaned back to German top-tier team Werder Bremen.
 
‎Hector had been expecting to sign for Crystal Palace before Chelsea made a last-gasp approach, yet the opportunity to join the team he supported from a young age became a no-brainer.
 
Hector said about his boyhood team: “I’m a fan and it’s one of the world’s biggest clubs.” 

Although he was a Reading player since 2009, it took loans at 11 clubs – ranging from English non-league sides like Bracknell Town and Horsham‎ to the heady heights of Aberdeen in the Scottish top-flight – before he finally made his Reading debut in January 2014.
 
Since he started competing in the Championship it has been a turn in fortune with Chelsea coming in for him and becoming a regular with the Reggae Boyz.
 
‎He qualified to represent Jamaica through his father Pat, who played a trio of first-class cricket matches for Essex, and since his international debut in June 2015 he has been in the plans of head coach Winfried Schãfer.
 
It was Schãfer who tried out Hector at centre-back, partnering him with Leicester City captain Wes Morgan in the Boyz’ 1-0 reversal to Uruguay in the 2015 Copa America.
 
He has been one of the first names on the Jamaica team-sheet and to his credit has 17 caps.
 
And learning some tricks of the trade from veteran Morgan has made Hector’s presence known by Conte – a massive fan of defensive play and solid defenders.
 
‎Hector’s inaugural season in the English Premier League will arguably be tough, but he is aiming to be the heir apparent to ex-England international Terry – although those are going to be big boots to fill at Stamford Bridge.