Scouted: Harvey Vale
A look at how Chelsea's academy Player of the Year is tackling an out-of-position spell in League One.
Chelsea have established themselves as kings of the loan market over the last decade, and for all the Blues’ issues this season, they continue to loan out their youngsters effectively.
Out of the twenty first-team players who are currently away from The Bridge on a temporary basis, one individual is leading the way with minutes played: Harvey Vale.
Dominic Solanke, Fikayo Tomori, Mason Mount, Reece James, Billy Gilmour and Tino Livramento have all proved themselves to be outstanding footballers having developed through Chelsea’s academy.
What links them together however is their achievement of being named Chelsea’s academy Player of the Year. Like Harvey Vale.
The 20-year-old midfielder initially signed for Fulham before joining Chelsea at Under-13s level. Vale has featured in every England youth side since Under-15s, apart from the Under-21s, which will almost certainly change after his performances for Bristol Rovers. Originally a left-back, Vale has played numerous positions across his youth career, even covering in goal.
After breaking into the Under-23 side at just 16, Vale played two successive seasons in Premier League 2 between 2020-21 and 2022-23. The above graphic shows his average position across both campaigns. He played across the pitch within a 4-2-3-1: across the three behind the nine, in the pivot, at left-back and even a nine.
However, the majority of the time he played as a wide player on the left. Across 34 appearances, Vale amassed 13 goal contributions aiding his side to second and 12th-placed finishes.
While watching Vale in the Under-23s, my main takeaways were: His physical profile, directness and decision-making. The combination of his running power and strength allows for an impressive carrying ability.
The amalgamation of his attributes, and his decision-making, leads to an almost unique directness to the youngster’s game. He sizes up his full-back in one-v-ones, playing into the striker’s feet or driving through the central middle.
After proving himself at the Under-23s level, the obvious next step was a loan. In the 2022-23 season, Vale moved to Hull City in the Championship. He was signed by Shota Arveladze, who unfortunately for Vale was replaced almost immediately by Liam Rosenior, whose style did not quite contemplate his profile.
A failed loan at 18 can break players, the reality of football hits hard especially coming from a place like Cobham. However, upon returning to Chelsea, Vale knew his next step would be vital.
Specifically, being able to develop his robustness for the men’s game had to be a key factor in wherever he moved. So, Bristol Rovers, in League One, were selected as his next club — a step down in league, but a move that could provide the physical edge that Vale needed to grow.
Matt Taylor’s Rovers are set up in a 3-4-3 shape. They look to keep the ball — they are sixth-highest for average possession in League One — and play through the thirds with a mix of slow build-up and the utilisation of wing backs. This leads to an element of directness in wide play, and it is one of those slots that Vale has so far filled.
This is an unnatural position for Vale, undeniably so. Indeed, the player himself recently discussed it in an interview with The Athletic.
“I’d not played much at left-back before, yet here I was in League One, at the start of my loan, up against men. Teams were targeting me, I could tell, because I’m a young lad. I got verbals from opponents, too. I won’t repeat exactly what they said, but it didn’t bother me. Let’s just say it was very much focused on how I was an academy footballer.
“I was speaking to the Chelsea staff about being used at left-back early on, and they said how I needed to work on my defensive heading anyway. The more I played there, the better I got at it.”
Harvey Vale, speaking to The Athetlic
The improvement is apparent and Vale has established himself as one of the best at his club and a real star of the league. His natural attacking instincts mean he’s a constant threat and the cultivation of a relationship with winger Luke Thomas has established a frightening left flank.
Vale’s ability to progress the ball, which he proved consistently at Chelsea, has transferred well to League One. He often receives the ball wide and moving inside. The importance of his relationship with Thomas is highlighted here, as they switch between holding the width and occupying central zones at different occasions.
The above graphic explains what areas Vale works in. His position may be wing-back but he is still utilised as a final third player. Vale is a technical metronome, his ability with the ball at his feet is unmatched in League One, and he could easily fit in at a team at the top of the Championship as well. Combining this skill with his size and speed makes him an impressive one-v-one threat.
Another strength of Vale’s is his ability to create a chance from wide. His range of differing crosses is crucial. Whether it is a delivery from the byline or from deep, whipped low across or pitched up towards the back post — his consistency from the flanks has been exceptional, and he has tallied up 3.06 xA from wide areas.
Another huge asset to Vale’s game is his diverse skill set. I believe the above graphic encapsulates this versatility. Either side, inside or out, shot or pass. When Vale receives the ball there is a sense of excitement — unquantifiable in numbers alone.
Out of possession, he has improved as the season as gone on. His positioning has always been strong and is usually well-placed to defend. However, he is still often targeted by opposition sides and under aerial pressure — this is an area he will hope to improve on.
Interview with Harry Brooks: Personal Coach, Analyst and Mentor
While playing for Bristol Rovers in the 2023-24 season Harvey has been deployed out of his comfort zone as a wing-back. Do you think, in the future, we will look back at this challenge as a contributor to his success?
100%. As a footballer, you are always going to have to deal with different challenges. And Harvey is as professional as they come. Managers and coaches know they can trust him to do a job wherever they put him. I’ve never been a believer in ‘positions’. Players are players, and instructions are instructions. So whether Harvey plays wingback, inside right, a high eight etc, it doesn’t really matter. He has to best utilise his game, for any given role, and learning how to perform in different areas of the pitch, at a young age, can certainly help round you out as a footballer and help your problem-solving ability and effectiveness for the team.
Over the last three years, what part of his game has he had to work incredibly hard on to improve? And what specifically was done to improve this weakness?
It’s not one part of the game. Players constantly have to improve not just their apparent weaknesses, but also their strengths. Continuing to improve strengths often gets ignored when speaking about how players can improve but it’s vital. Harvey has always been an incredible team player. That, alongside who he is as a person has seen him become integral for every group he’s been in, someone that can be relied upon, and often captaining his teams. It is important all players also have a sense of individualism about their game, because whilst it’s a team game, for a players to show the best versions of themselves, they have to show their true selves and what they are capable of.
How important is it to see a clear pathway and previous examples of academy players breaking through, especially during this current period where pure profit is so crucial in regards to FFP?
I don’t like to put ceilings on things. Because even if a player had never broken through at a premier league club from the academy, why can’t ’player A’ be the first? So while it’s important to see the pathway and door being open, players have to realise it’s up to them to blow the door off, whether it’s fully open, slightly open, or closed with a hundred locks on it! Whilst there are always going to be hurdles and things in the way, I believe at the heart of it all, you are in charge of your own destiny. If you want to win the World Cup, first and foremost, you need to make sure you’re good enough to win the World Cup. And that goes for anything. Control the controllable, make sure you give it everything you’ve got and see where it takes you because everyone’s journey is different.
If you could compare Harvey to any player over the last 10 years who would you say is most similar in profile?
Boring answer, but I don’t like to compare players anyway, but especially someone like Harvey, who is someone that I would describe as a pure footballer. If you picked 20 different people to talk about Harvey, they’d all give different descriptions. And that’s a testament to how rounded a player he is and what he can offer a team.
If you could describe Harvey in three words what would they be? But also, one word to describe what you believe he needs to improve?
Haha, three words aren’t enough, and if I had to pick one word, it would stay between me and him!
By Alfie Biggs