Chelsea Players Shortlisted for PFA Young Player of the Year

Chelsea’s rebuild has not just been about big names and big fees. It has been about young players walking into one of the most demanding dressing rooms in the game and looking like they belong there. Two of them now stand on the brink of national recognition.

Buurman and Thompson have both been shortlisted for the PFA’s Young Player of the Year award, voted for by their fellow professionals, after eye-catching debut campaigns in blue. For a club that expects trophies as a matter of routine, this is a different kind of endorsement: respect from the players who had to face them.

Buurman’s route to this moment was anything but straightforward. She signed for Chelsea in September 2024 and was immediately loaned back to PSV, a move that kept her away from the spotlight but sharpened her game. When she finally arrived in west London last summer, she did not ease her way in. She forced it.

Integrated into the first-team squad, she clocked 24 appearances across all competitions, a significant workload for a player in her first full season at the club. Her breakthrough moment came with the sort of goal that lingers in supporters’ minds – her first for Chelsea, struck in style, in an FA Cup quarter-final win over Tottenham Hotspur. A high-pressure tie, a London rival, and a young player seizing the stage rather than shrinking from it.

If Buurman’s season felt like a rapid ascent, Thompson’s looked like a statement of intent from the very first week. Signed last summer from Angel City, she immediately became one of the pillars of the side. Across the 2025/26 campaign she featured 33 times, the joint-highest total in the squad alongside Erin Cuthbert – a telling measure of trust from the coaching staff.

The numbers back up the impression. At just 21, Thompson finished with nine goals in all competitions, second only to Sam Kerr. In a team stacked with attacking options, she did not just fill a role; she drove games, turned tight contests, and added a scoring threat that opponents struggled to contain over a long, gruelling season.

Their impact is reflected in the PFA’s six-player shortlist, where Chelsea supply a full third of the nominees. The rest of the field underlines the depth of young talent emerging across the league: Laura Blindkilde Brown of Manchester City, Freya Godfrey of London Lionesses, Tottenham Hotspur’s Toko Koga, and Arsenal’s Olivia Smith complete a compelling list.

Each of those names has built a strong case over the campaign, but it is Chelsea’s duo who symbolise a broader shift at the club. This is no longer just a squad defined by established stars; it is one being quietly reshaped by players at the start of their careers, already influencing big matches and big moments.

The verdict now lies with the professionals who have marked them, chased them, and tried to stop them. The winner will be announced at the PFA’s annual awards ceremony at the Manchester Opera House on Tuesday 25 August.

By then, Buurman and Thompson may already be deep into preparations for another season in blue. Whether either of them walks away with the trophy or not, one thing is clear: they are no longer just promising signings. They are central figures in Chelsea’s next chapter.