Chelsea’s Young Stars Shine in PFA Young Player of the Year Shortlist
Chelsea’s new generation is already muscling its way to the front of the stage.
Two of their brightest young stars, Buurman and Thompson, have been shortlisted for the PFA’s Young Player of the Year award, voted for by fellow professionals and widely regarded as one of the most telling markers of rising status in the English game.
Chelsea’s young core steps into the spotlight
Buurman’s path has been a slow burn, then a sharp rise. She officially became a Chelsea player in September 2024, only to head straight back to PSV on loan. Out of sight, but clearly not out of mind.
Last summer, she finally walked through the doors at Cobham as a full member of the first-team squad. From there, she didn’t ease her way in; she carved out a place. Twenty-four appearances across all competitions in her debut campaign tell their own story, but one moment stands above the rest.
In the FA Cup quarter-final against Tottenham Hotspur, she chose the perfect stage to score her first Chelsea goal – and did it in style. It wasn’t just a milestone, it was a statement: she belonged at this level, in this shirt, in these matches that decide seasons.
If Buurman’s year was about arrival, Thompson’s was about endurance and influence.
Signed last summer from Angel City, the 21-year-old barely missed a beat in her first campaign in English football. She featured 33 times in 2025/26, the joint-highest total in the squad alongside the ever-present Erin Cuthbert. That level of trust from the coaching staff doesn’t come cheaply at Chelsea.
Thompson backed it up with numbers. Nine goals across all competitions – second only to star striker Sam Kerr – underline her impact in the final third. For a young player adapting to a new league, new demands, and the intensity of Chelsea’s schedule, it was a season that felt less like a bedding-in period and more like a full-scale breakthrough.
A shortlist with a heavy Chelsea accent
The PFA’s six-player shortlist, announced today, carries a distinctly blue tint. A full third of the nominees wear Chelsea colours, with Buurman and Thompson joined by four standout peers from across the league: Laura Blindkilde Brown of Manchester City, Freya Godfrey of London Lionesses, Toko Koga of Tottenham Hotspur, and Arsenal’s Olivia Smith.
It’s a group that reflects the changing face of the domestic game – younger, sharper, and already central to their clubs’ plans rather than waiting in the wings.
For Chelsea, though, the numbers are striking. Two players in six. One club setting the pace in a category that so often hints at who will dominate the next decade.
All eyes on Manchester
The verdict now rests with the players who have faced, marked, chased, and tried to stop these nominees all season. Their votes will decide who leaves with the PFA’s Young Player of the Year trophy when the winner is revealed at the annual awards ceremony at the Manchester Opera House on Tuesday 25 August.
On that stage, under those lights, one name will be called.
Whether it’s Buurman, Thompson, or one of their rivals, the message is already clear: Chelsea’s next generation isn’t waiting its turn. It’s already here, already competing for the game’s biggest individual honours – and this may only be the first award night of many.
