Making his professional debut for Chelsea was not the only new experience Jesse Derry got to enjoy last week.
Four days before coming on as a substitute in Chelsea’s 4-0 FA Cup win at Hull City, the England Under-19 international was thriving in another role. As fans turned up to support the Under-18s play Manchester City in the FA Youth Cup at Kingsmeadow Stadium, they were greeted by the official club mascot, Stamford the Lion. Little did they know that the young man inside the costume, doing the customary funny moves to engage the crowd and posing for pictures, was Derry.
It provided the latest indication of how quickly Derry has settled in at his new club, having joined them last summer after deciding to let his contract at Crystal Palace run out. Sources speaking under the condition of anonymity to The Athletic to protect relationships, like all of those spoken to for this article, talk about him already being one of the key characters in the Chelsea Under-21s dressing room, even though many of his team-mates have been there for several years. His desire to support the under-18s in such a unique way is just an example of the positive energy he brings to the group.
Chelsea obviously did not give him a four-year deal just because he is a good character. A number of clubs in England and across Europe were after his signature, with one prominent side in Germany particularly close to luring him abroad.
It helped that Derry grew up as a huge Chelsea fan, with Eden Hazard among his idols. He still lives at the family home — former Crystal Palace and Leeds midfielder Shaun is his dad — which is not too far from the club’s training ground in Cobham, Surrey. Such a quick commute and maintaining close ties with loved ones clearly worked in Chelsea’s favour.
Derry was a rising star in Crystal Palace’s academy. He was named their under-18s player of the season for 2023-24 after scoring 16 goals in 22 appearances, and American footwear company Skechers, who boast England captain Harry Kane as one of their clients, rewarded him with a boot deal which involves filming football content on social media as well as simply wearing the brand for matches.
Rosenior acknowledging Derry after the win over Hull (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)
Sources at Crystal Palace also have glowing things to say about his personality, but say his game really developed in his last two years there. It helped that Derry, who had been at the club’s academy from the age of five, can play with both feet. Palace sources say were impressed by his composure on the ball, ability to beat an opponent and quality from set pieces. His speed and stamina levels were deceptive — while not always looking like a remarkable asset to the naked eye, the stats the club compiled said otherwise.
Derry’s form earned England call-ups to the under-17s, under-18s and under-19s. Last summer, he scored twice at the European Under-19 Championship, although England went out at the group stage.
Sources say Crystal Palace tried to persuade him to sign a professional deal on more than one occasion, but to no avail. While he got to train with the first team at times, Derry never made the bench for a senior match, let alone played in one. Sources at the club believe it was a factor in his decision and that more could have been done to show there was a pathway. This season, Joel Drakes-Thomas made his senior debut for Crystal Palace, becoming their fourth-youngest player when he started against Finnish champions KuPS in the Conference League aged 16 years and 192 days. He has played another four times since then, perhaps indicating lessons have been learned.
With Derry being a homegrown player under the age of 24, they were entitled to compensation. Sources have told The Athletic that the two clubs agreed a fee in excess of £1million ($1.35m), therefore avoiding the need for the case to be decided by a tribunal, unlike Liverpool’s acquisition of Rio Ngumoha from Chelsea.
It is already looking like a bargain. Derry was making a good impression at Chelsea before his lively cameo against Hull City. In 23 appearances for various Chelsea youth teams, he has scored 11 times and accrued four assists. Five of those goals came in just seven appearances in the UEFA Youth League, where the standard is clearly going to be high.
Derry began training with the first team a few months ago when Enzo Maresca was still in charge, and that has continued under the Italian’s successor, Liam Rosenior — something he continued this week. As someone who operates primarily on the left wing, that has given him the opportunity to work against Reece James. Sources say Chelsea’s captain has been a big help to Derry, not only providing the invaluable education of facing a great right-back, but also in the way he has helped him in the camp and offered encouragement.
As Derry’s official Instagram feed showed on Friday night, he is getting support from some other big names. Manchester City’s Jack Grealish and former Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand were among those to offer their congratulations.
Derry playing for Palace’s youth team (Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images)
Grealish has known the family since playing under father Shaun while on loan at Notts County from Aston Villa as a 17-year-old and has stayed in touch. His style of play is another Derry is looking to emulate. Sources reveal Grealish has sent messages to the family when Jesse has reached other milestones, like when he signed his scholar deal at Crystal Palace in 2023 and secured a move to Chelsea two years later. The connection with Ferdinand is helped by the fact that Derry is signed up to the same football agency, but the former has been a great source of motivation anyway.
No one, including Derry, is getting too carried away. After getting a taste of action with the first team, Derry’s focus is on continuing to work hard with the under-21s to try to get another. Discussions on whether to stay put or go on loan next season have yet to take place, but there is no rush.
A picture of him wearing a Chelsea shirt as a young kid reemerged over the past week. Speaking to the club’s website in November, Derry said: “I’ve followed Chelsea for as long as I can remember. To be part of the club is surreal. If I could go back and tell that boy in the picture how far we’ve come, I don’t think he’d believe it. I just want to keep living in the moment, working hard and never lose sight of the goal of playing for the men’s team one day.”
He has already achieved that dream. Now he will do his utmost to realise another.