Chelsea wonderkid Shamuira Mheuka has signed his first professional contract with the club. Mheuka, more commonly referred to as Shim, turned 17 earlier this week, on October 20.
Having become a full-time scholar earlier this year he is now tied down to the club. The announcement comes just one day after he was confirmed as being selected in Enzo Maresca's first-team squad for the Conference League group phase match against Panathinaikos.
Mheuka has already moved from Under-18 regular last season to being part of Felipe Coehlo's Under-21 group. He has scored three times this season.
During the international break Mheuka was called up for England's Under-19s, effectively playing two years above his age. When at Brighton - where Chelsea signed him from in 2022 - Mheuka played against Chelsea in the Under-17 cup at just 13.
He was one of the standouts in an impressive Under-18 side that won the Premier League south division last season, losing out in the final to Manchester United. He scored 12 times in 20 matches across the campaign.
Now, playing in a stacked Development Squad including £17million signing Deivid Washington and 21-year-old Harvey Vale - who was on loan at League One side Bristol Rovers last season - Mheuka is more than holding his own. Over pre-season and in the EFL Cup he has made appearances against senior sides, even though he was just 16 at the time.
Speaking about Mheuka ahead of the Panathinaikos clash, Maresca said, "Shim, we use him as a striker and as a winger. "They [Mheuka and Sam Rak-Sakyi] are good profiles, young ones, and it will be a good experience for them to stay with us."
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